Boys Love Life
by Killerbee77
Summary: Hyuga Hinata is a 24 year old light novel author, living out her long life dream as a writer. However, she doesn't write just any books. She's a writer of boys love novels and even has a slow, but growing fanbase. But, when she receives a letter one day from a studio interested in turning her book series into an anime, her life becomes much more than the average life she's used to.
1. Episode 1: Boys Love Artist

This is a new story I came up with, and seeing as my last Naruto was kinda, meh, I thought I'd try another one. I lost interest in it to be honest and its been so long since I even thought about the story, I can't even remember what I had planned. Guess that's one reason to be upset that my past self didn't write and plot out stories. So, I got this idea and started brainstorming and came up with this because I thought doing a Slice of Life type of story would be fun. Plus, its mostly plotted out, making things easier to write. Let me know what you think!

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Episode One: Boys Love Artist

The tip-tap of the desktop keyboard was the only thing she payed any real attention in the entire room, not even the ticking of her wall clock could distract her. The mind must be focused, when weaving a tale; like a movie from inside her head and painted onto the computer screen through her fingers.

Hyuga Hinata was an artist, but not of drawing or painting. She was an artist of literature, telling a story through nothing but the use of words and her own imagination, a _raito noberu_ author, to be specific. The computer screen reflected off her glasses as her thoughts flowed out like a river of words. The smell of the delicious, home cooked food floated through the ajar door, but Hinata did her best not to let it deter her from her work, even though her stomach was growling silently.

 _I want to finish this, no, I need to finish this._ She thought, narrowing her eyes. Her glasses slid down her nose a bit and she pushes them back into place without missing a beat in her typing.

 _-Takashi was pressed up against the wall, not sure what he should do. It was wrong, he knew that, but it didn't feel wrong. If anything, it felt right. Genji was so close, so close Takashi could feel his breath on his ear, along with the fruity sweet from the hard candy he sucked on._

" _Takashi-kun, you seem ...distracted," Genji said, tracing his finger up the young teen's arm. "Am I distracting you?"_

 _Takashi tried his best to fight the blush he felt. "M-maybe, a little."_

 _Genji chuckled. "Sorry about that, but you did say you need my help." Genji's fingers stopped at the tips of Takashi's, and stayed there for a moment, before he took the poster from his hand. "Its a shame, really," the taller man stretched his arm up much farther than the teenager could reach. He stuck the poster to the wall. "How short you are."_

 _Takashi turned to the man after he gave him room to move, a pout on his blushing face. "I'm not that short, Genji-san."_

" _You're short enough," the older man retorted with a playful smile. He traced his fingers from the base of Takashi's neck and along his jawline, until he got to his chin. "Not that that's a bad thing."_

" _Genji, we can't, if someone-."_

 _The teenager was cut off by the soft lips of his teacher, the fear of someone seeing the two of them together was still there, but it was slowly pushed back by the feeling of pleasure as Genji nipped at his bottom lip and snaked his tongue into his mouth. He wanted to resisted, but didn't at the same time. Before long, the last embers of struggle burn out and Takashi melted into the kiss; the taste of fruit candy and soft lips._

A knock at her door broke her out of her stride, Hinata typed out one last sentence and spun around in her computer chair, facing her bedroom door. "Yes?"

"Hinata," came a soft, almost feminine voice. The door pushed open and her childhood friend and roommate stuck his upper body through the cracked door, his long silky, black hair framed his face and his large dark brown eyes watched her with a small smile on his lips. "Dinner is ready, you might want to come eat before it gets cold."

Hinata gave him a nod, then spun around in her chair, facing her computer. "I'll be right there, Haku-kun. I just want to finish this last chapter for today," she said, typing away at her keyboard once again. "Be down in five, okay."

Haku gave a sigh, then shook his head. "Well, can't say I didn't try," he uttered, before he left the room.

It was a well known fact, that Hyuga Hinata should not be bothered when she was in her 'writing zone' as it was dubbed by Haku and those that knew her. Once she got a good writing stride, it was hard to break her out of it, even for a meal; if a chapter needed to be finished and she was in her 'zone', little else mattered unless it was life or death.

The young author continued her work, a small blush on her cheeks as the scene played out in her head as she typed.

 _-Genji wrapped his right arm around Takashi's back and the other slid down the teenager's arm, the older man's fingers intertwining with his. It didn't take long for a new flame to start up in Takashi's core and burn down the walls that kept him from doing what he truly wanted, and he wanted this._

 _He wanted Genji, more than he knew. No longer was he overly concerned about being caught, the way he felt right now was shadowing all of that, and as Genji went from kissing his lips to kissing across his jawline and down his neck, the feeling came even more so._

 _Takashi bit back a moan as the teacher began to suck and nip at the spot between his shoulder and his neck. "Y-you're such a bully, Genji."_

" _Oh, I know that, believe me," the teacher leaned back, the black haired teen's blushing face reflecting back at him through his glasses. "But, you enjoy it. Am I wrong?"_

 _Takashi looked to the side at the floor. "I-I-."_

" _Do you want to stop, Takashi-kun, Because we can, if that's truly what you want," Genji asked with a coy smile. "Remember what I said before. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to."_

 _Takashi bit his lip, he was way past the point where he could just simply stop, and having Genji so close wasn't making his thoughts any clearly. One side of him was telling his to stop, but it was only a whisper in comparison to the side that yelled for him to keep going. "I-I," the student stuttered out. He looked up at the man, with a bashful look in his eyes. "I ...no, I don't want to stop. But, we can't continue here; schools out but if one of the other teachers find us you could-."_

" _Shh," Genji cut him off, putting a finger to his lips. "I already know," he lowered his finger to Takashi's chin. "Where do you suppose we continue this?"_

" _The locker room, maybe," he suggested, meekly._

" _The locker room, hm? You sure?"_

 _Takashi gave a nod. Genji's smile widened slightly, and he took the teenager by the wrist and started leading him through the school building's second floor, across the small bridge connecting it to the club building and towards the locker rooms._

 _Only, Genji choose the wrong locker room that his young student had meant._

" _Genji, this is the girls locker room," Takashi said, starring at the passing girls sign. "We can't be in here."_

" _School is out for the day, and no one students are on campus," Genji said, as he lead the teenager through the rows of lockers and sat him on a bench. The girls locker room wasn't much different from the boys one next door; Takashi had never been inside, he never had a reason to, though a part of him always wondered what it looked like. "Takashi, do you remember that promise you made the other day, about the test?"_

" _Y-yeah." How could he forget? He had promised to do whatever Genji asked, but only if he failed the test. It had been a joke in all honesty, though his teacher seemed to take it as some sort of promise._

" _Well, there is something I want you to do for me," Genji strolled over to one of the other benches. He bent down and pulled a brown box from underneath, then turned to Takashi, a smile still plastered on his face as he held the box out to him. "I want you to put this on."_

 _Takashi raised his eyebrow. "What's this," he asked, taking the box in his hands._

" _Just a little something to make things more ...interesting," the older man then clapped his hands. "Chop chop, we don't have all day."_

 _Takashi stood up and walked around to the other side of the room, where Genji couldn't see him. He starred down at the box for a moment, then let out a sigh and opened the lid. His eyes widened as he starred at what was inside._

" _H-he wants me to wear something like this," he muttered. it was a white, girl's swimsuit, a hairband made to look like cat ears, and a red choker. "He can't be serious." However, Takashi knew that Genji was serious, a bet was a bet, after all.  
_

 _ **~(2)~**_

"And ...done," Hinata pressed the save option and leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She took her glasses off and placed them next to her computer, it was only then that she noticed the time in the corner of the screen. _Oh no, that was way past five minutes!_ She thought to herself, her stomach growling loudly.

In fact, the time had flown by so fast, what felt like five or ten minutes had actually been close to twenty. _Damn it, now my foods probably cold._ Shaking her head, the young author spun around in her chair and stood up, giving a groan as she stretched. She had been sitting in that spot for much longer than she should have. Haku always teased her, saying that the chair would have a permanent imprint of her butt on it with the hours she spent sitting in it.

Hinata let out a sigh, "at this point, I wouldn't be surprised."

She straightened the wrinkles out of the blue nightshirt and pants she wore, then slid her feet into her fluffy white bunny slippers and stumbled out the bedroom, blood finally circulating back into her legs. The dinner smell had faded somewhat, but she could still smell it as she walked down the flight of polished, redwood stairs.

Before she ever got to the last step, she spotted Haku sitting on the big sofa with his legs crossed, facing her. Well, less her and more so the television against the wall of the stairs.

The feminine boy looked in her direction. "And so, a wild Hinata appears," he said, jokingly. "Too bad I don't have any Pokeballs left, huh?"

"Really," she said. "I don't think I'd be much of a fighter, you might lose every battle."

"Who said anything about being a Pokemon trainer, I could be a doctor or a breeder," Haku said in thought. "Maybe, a nurse, they do wear some cute outfits."

Hinata giggled. "You're such a trap, Haku."

"And you love me for it."

"True," she paused for a moment. "By the way, sorry for coming down so late."

"No need to apologize, you were in your zone," Haku replied with a shrug. "Besides, your food was the one getting cold, not mine. Luckily for you, I covered it, so it should still be warm."

Hinata smiled. "Thanks, Haku-kun. I don't know what I'd do without you around."

"Probably starve and waste away writing. But, what kind of friend would I be if I let you die of starvation," Haku said, giving a soft smile. "I have a reputation to uphold, you know."

"A reputation that only you know of," Hinata said.

"Maybe so. Either way, you should hurry and get your food," Haku said, picking up the black, oval shaped remote from the paper covered coffee table. "You made it down just in time, the new episode of _Ninja Warrior_ is about to start in a few minutes and I know you want to see if Lee makes the cut."

Hinata gave an excited gasp. "Oh, I almost forgot! I promised Lee I'd watch him," and hurried into the dinning room the get her meal.

The house she and Haku shared was a simple, two-story building that looked much smaller on the outside than it really was. There was three bedrooms and a bathroom on the second flood, and on the first floor was the living room, dinning room and kitchen and in the kitchen was a door leading down to the basement that held the washing machine and drier.

The young author grabbed her food from the table, and walked back into the living room and took a seat of the couch next to Haku; the program they had been waiting for all day was just starting the first few contestants.

"So, how did the writing go, today," Haku asked, glancing over at her.

Hinata uncovered the plastic wrap from her plate, taking in the smell of rice and beef curry. "It went very well," she said, taking her personal pair of chopsticks in her hand. "A few more days of writing and I'll be finished the third volume."

"And a week before your deadline," Haku said, smiling at her. "Your publisher must love you for always being on time."

"She loves you just as much. You can't have a light novel without pictures."

Giving a nod, he smirked a bit. As she began to eat her curry, he asked. "Any chance I'll be reading any sexy scenes when I read over your draft? Mind telling me what I'm to expect? Things got very heated in the last book."

Hinata blushed, almost coughing on her food. "Uh ...m-maybe," she said, meekly. "I'd rather not say out loud, its sorta ...e-embarrassing."

Haku laughed. "I'll never understand how you can write such good sex scenes and still be so shy about it, Hinata."

"I just like to keep it in my head or on my computer, rather than talk about those types of things out loud," Hinata said, continuing to eat her food. "I'd rather people read about it than talk about it."

"You know, one of these days, you're gonna have to talk about stuff like that, eventually," Haku stated. "Most likely to a fan of yours, or in a panel."

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," Hinata said. She turned back to the television. "Oh, look, Lee's up next."

The rest of the night passed as it usually did for the two; their friend, Lee, pretty much breezed through the first round. Not that they had any doubt. As much as Lee trained on a regular basis and him working out even more since he signed up for _Ninja Warrior_ , the green spandex styling young man had the first round (the easiest round) in the bag.

A few hours later, at around close to midnight, Hinata had gone to bed, her mind entirely exhausted from her hours of binge-writing. Haku went to his own bedroom and sat at his desk, pulling the drawings he hadn't finished for his and Hinata's novel out the drawer. Just like her, he was almost done. Hinata would give him a list of scenes planned for the book, about twelve or thirteen, and he would draw them. Hinata was the author who breathed life into the story, but it was Haku who gave the world of her novels a visual as the illustrator and corrected any mistakes the pale skinned girl may have missed, being the beta-reader and editor.

They had been working together for years, since the day they met that one cold, winter day in junior high. Haku was the new kid, the _mysterious_ transfer student that people read about and watched in shows and in mangas; he was so feminine that people who didn't know him thought he was girl cross-dressing in a boy's uniform, and his voice being so soft spoken and quiet only backed up that assumption. Now that he was older, his voice was much more boyish and somewhat commanding at times.

The two had formed a close bond, compensating for what the other lacked; Haku honestly had no idea what he would be doing if he hadn't met Hinata. But, he had a feeling that it wouldn't have been as much fun.

 _Besides, not many guys can say they help their friend make boys love novels,_ Haku thought with a chuckle. _That's kinda something to take pride in._

* * *

Remember to review and also point out any mistakes you may find! A little FYI: Italic underline text will be used for thing such as the story within the story, everything else is pretty much the same, normal italics meaning thought and so on.


	2. Episode 2: Boys Love Fan Mail

And so a new chapter has arrived. Had to take care of a few things in life, but I'm back and at it again~! Please enjoy dear reader!

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Episode 2: Boys Love Fan Mail

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Haku blinked his eyes open, still in semi darkness from being wrapped head to toe in his red, flower patterned blanket. He rolled to his side, reaching his hand out towards his nightstand and tapped the snooze button on his annoying alarm clock. Sighing, the feminine young man threw off his blanket and sat up, stretching and yawning.

 _I hate mornings._ Haku thought, running his hand through his tangled mess of black hair. He wanted to go back to sleep until noon, but he had to work today; the job he worked was at a coffee shop and bakery in Konoha's Hokage District downtown, called 'Ami-chan's'. It was a small establishment, and quite popular as an after school hang out spot among high school students.

He had worked there since it first opened almost two years ago. Haku waited tables most of the time, but he also baked and even managed the shop once or twice when the owners had to leave early to take care of important business. They were some of the nicest people you could meet, and polite to everyone, even when some folks didn't deserve it for being rude.

Haku got out of bed and walked into his bathroom. The sun had risen only a few hours before, giving him enough time to handle everything he needed to do for his usual morning ritual. He took a quick shower and shampooed his long, black hair and brushed his teeth, and washed his face.

Once his shower was over, he put on his white bathrobe and stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair was a towel. Haku patted over his hair one last time, then glanced over at his alarm clock; he had woken up at eight-thirty, the time now was nine-fifteen.

"I took a shower a little longer than I should have," he muttered, tossing his towel onto his bed. Haku normally wasn't one to rush places, he preferred to take things at a steady pace so he wouldn't forget anything.

However, today was the deadline, meaning Hinata would be meeting with the publisher to put out the next volume of their novel series. Luckily, the place that the two always met was at the same coffee shop where Haku worked, so if anything important ever came up, he was usually there to hear it or give his input.

The young man pulled a pair of blue jeans and a button up white top out of his dresser and laid it on the bed, then he opened the door and left his room, headed for Hinata's bedroom. He was sure she was still asleep, she always was in the morning; Hinata slept until noon most days, the reason being that she had a habit of staying up late writing. Haku had walked in on her passed out at her computer desk more than a few times. He found he always reminded her that rest was as important breathing for a writer, and staying up through the night wasn't the healthiest thing to do, to which Hinata would laugh and nod, saying, "I try to sleep earlier from now on," only for her to forget a few days later during one of her 'writing zones'.

It wasn't like she didn't actually try to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Hinata was just a perfectionist when it came to her work, and her OCD didn't help. She couldn't stop writing until it was at a certain point where she felt it was complete enough for her to do so.

There was one incident that he remembered clearly. It happened a month or so ago; Haku had fallen asleep on the couch during his and Hinata's movie night, while watching a marathon of _Stay/Light Zero_ , a popular anime series that the two had yet to get caught up on. When he woke up hours later at around three in the morning, he found the dark blue haired girl wasn't where he had last seen her.

He planned on going to sleep, but he decided to go check on her just to be sure if she had gone to bed, and she had. Though, Hinata wasn't sleeping in her bed, she was sleeping at her computer desk with her forehead pressing her laptop keyboard, gibberish appearing on the screen; almost ten thousand words worth of nonsense and three thousand of that being the actual draft for the story.

Of course, Haku didn't leave his roommate at her computer like that, what kind of friend would he be if he had? No, the feminine young man picked her up and tucked her in her own bed, fixed the gibberish on the word document, and powered down the laptop.

He had no idea how long she'd been like that, about an hour or two at most, but it gave him something to laugh and tease her about the next morning, especially with the keyboard imprint still on her forehead.

 _I should really try harder to get her on a better sleeping schedule._ Haku thought as he approached the young author's door. _At this rate, she going to be a vampire._ Shaking his head, he raised his hand and softly knocked on the door. "Hinata. Hinata, are you up yet?" No response, he expected as much. "I'm coming in."

With those words, Haku opened the door. The inside of the room had to be shadowiest place in the whole city; the morning sunlight was completely blocked by thick blue curtains, it gave the room a somewhat gloomy and dull atmosphere. _Just like a vampire's lair._ Haku mused.

The androgynous young man strolled into the room and over to the sleeping girl's bed. She was completely cocooned in her sheets like some type of caterpillar, and like all caterpillars, hatching was one of the hardest parts of life. "Hinata, its time to get up," Haku said, shaking the bundle of sheets. "We have to go meet Sarutobi-san soon."

He was answered by a cute, but equally annoyed groan. "Leave me alone."

Haku sighed and shook her again. "Hinata, come on."

"Just ...five more minutes."

"You know I can't do that, Hina-chan. If you don't get up now, you're going to be late, and you know how you feel about being tardy."

"Five or ten minutes won't make me tardy."

"It will when five or ten minutes, turns into an hour," Haku retorted. "So, are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way?" When she didn't give him an answer, he gave a shrug. _I warned her._ Haku walked over to the window and throw open the curtains, letting the sunlight banish the bedroom's dark gloom, then he lifted the window, taking a deep breath as the spring breeze blew in past his face.

"Its a nice day out, you know," he said, smiling.

"Uh-huh, that's great," Hinata muttered.

Haku rolled his eyes at the plain response. He walked back over to the bed and grabbed hold of the sheets, but felt Hinata grip the material from inside her cocoon. She put up a struggle, however, she was too tired, and there was no way the writer could keep her sleepy hold on the cloth. "Rise and shine, Draculina," Haku yanked them away from his sleepy roommate. Hinata let out a yelp and covered her face from the bright light, still curled up in a ball. "Good morning, Vampire-hime."

"I so wish I could hiss at you right now," Hinata muttered through her hands.

"Awe, come on, you're acting like you're melting," Haku laughed. "You know what they say, sunlight is good for the soul."

"...I have no soul."

"Sure you do, now up you go," Haku took the half sleep girl by the wrists and tried pulling her into a sitting position on the edge of her bed. "Come on, up, up, up."

"Haku, I want to sleep," Hinata whined.

"No can do, not today," Haku said, smiling at Hinata. She was very stubborn in the mornings. But, he found the best way to get her going was to bribe her with food. "Now you get yourself straightened out, and I'll finish getting dress and pull us on some breakfast; I'm making cinnamon buns and your favorite drink, van-."

"Vanilla mocha coffee," the meek girl said, rubbing her eyes with her palm.

"Yep, with lots of whip cream," he said. "If you don't want it, though, I'll just eat it all myself."

That was all it took, the magic word; Hinata groaned again and got off the bed and stumbled towards her bathroom. Sure, it was at the pace of a zombie with a broken leg, but she was up and moving and that's what counted.

 _You've survived yet another morning of waking the vampire princess. This calls for a celebration._ Haku joked to himself. He left Hinata's bedroom and headed down the hall, towards his own bedroom. He still had to finish getting himself ready for the day, after all.

 _ **~(2)~**_

Hinata held her eyes closed tight as she messaged the face soap into her skin. Back when she had been in junior high, she was pron to breakouts; pimples were an everyday thing and it got annoying trying to them keep down. That was until she met Haku during her second year, his face was always acne free and smooth to the touch, back then she had wondered why. Then, a few months after the two had become friends, he showed her his secret to skin care.

After school one day, Haku took her to a small shop in Sakurai Village, just outside the city limits, near the Forbidden Forest, also known as the Forest of Death. It was a simple looking shop, with a pink and blue flower shaped sign hanging over the front door. The name of the shop was 'Yamanaka Herbs', and the Yamanaka family had owned the land there for almost five generations. Or, at least that was the rumor.

The family grew herbs from different parts of the world and used them to make tea, soaps, medicine, hair and other natural products. They were mostly known for their beautiful flowers and perfumes.

Haku told her that he had found the place by chance when he and his mother had visited the village a year before he transferred into her school. His mother had brought the face soap just to try out and liked it. Haku found that it worked so well, he had to buy his own collection of soaps and shampoos.

After their visit to the shop, Hinata saw her face clearing up within the first few weeks of using the soap until her skin eventually cleared and stayed that way as she continued using it. She'd been using the Yamanaka shops products ever since. The young author couldn't thank Haku enough. Not having to deal with pimples and breakouts made high school a little more bearable.

 _Not that high school was really that bad,_ Hinata thought. She cupped her hands under the faucets and tossed water on her face, then dried off with a hand towel. _I did have Haku and Neji with me ...and Shikamaru._ She lower the towel and blinked her eyes open, starring into the mirror, finding that she had a small frown.

"What am I even thinking about him for," she muttered. Part of her still found it hard to believe that she and him had been an item in high school, a good one from Haku's perceptive. But, all good things come to an end, and high school romances never last.

And, yet, Hinata still found herself thinking about him sometimes for no reason. _Even in college, I bet he's still that same old lazy bum._ Some people seemed like they'd never change, and to her, Shikamaru was one of those people. Not that that was always a bad thing.

 _High school is over and done with. Its time to think about something else. You've got important things to do today._ She let out a deep sigh and hung the towel on the metal towel holder, then smacked her cheeks lightly with her hands. "Right, its time to get the next volume of my story out! Can't keep my readers waiting too long!" Hinata nodded to herself in the mirror, looking as determined as she felt.

As a writer, she put nothing less than her heart and soul into her work and even with the sells going well with her first two volumes of her four book series, publishing her writing for the world to read and criticize on still made her very, very nervous, but also excited.

Hinata left the bathroom. She still had to figure out what she was going to wear for the day. She walked to her closet. the clothes she had weren't really much; hoodies and shirts and coats hung up on hangers, a black dress that she barely wore, ever; folded neatly in a bin under the hung up clothes were jeans and shorts and tights and a few skirts. Not much of a selection, but clothes were clothes.

 _What to wear, what to wear?_ Hinata thought, her hand on her hip, tapping her foot. _I should have taken Haku's advice and picked my clothes out last night._ She sucked her teeth, and after a few moments of thinking, decided to just pick something that matched. "Lets see," The dark blue haired girl pointed her finger at one of the clothes bins and began searching through each of them. "I'll wear a black skirt, black tights, and ...um, my Kurama-chan t-shirt, and my lucky hoodie." She pulled each of the clothes from the closet and laid them on the bed.

Once she undressed from her comfy night wear, which in a way, acted as her work outfit since she pretty much worked at home. Hinata dressed herself in her outfit of choice, and walked over to the mirror attached to her dresser, making sure everything was good. _Clothes match, nothing seems out of place._ Hinata put on her glasses and used a pair of purple hairbands to tie her hair in two ponytails, her usual hair style; quick, convenient and easy to pull off. It was her go to style for when she was in a rush or didn't feel like messing with her hair. _And ...done_. _Good bye shut in, hello casual._

She smiled at her reflection and quickly walked over to her computer desk. Hinata opened the bottom left drawer and pulled out a thick stack of papers, all bound together by three large metal clips in the right side. Her manuscript, all two-hundred and twenty-five pages; a result of months and months worth of planing, plot filling, and writing. To anyone else, it would have seemed like nothing but a bunch of papers, but to her and Haku, it was pretty much their creative baby. Third baby, if you wanted to get technical.

Hinata turned around, pushing the drawer closed with her heel. She put the manuscript in plastic zip binder, and put the binder into her satchel bag that she kept hanging up on the back of her bedroom door.

She was dressed and everything she needed was secure, Hinata grabbed her lucky hoodie from the bed, slung the satchel over her shoulder and left the room. She could already smell the cinnamon buns and coffee waiting for her as she reached the stairs.

When she got to the kitchen, Haku was sitting at the table, sipping coffee with a half eaten cinnamon bun in front of him, looking through the number of envelopes on the table. As promised, he had made her favorite coffee with whipped cream. She sat down at the table and smiled, taking a sip of her drink and biting into her cinnamon bun.

Her black haired roommate took notice in what she was wearing and said, playfully. "I'm honestly surprised that shirt still fits you."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "A-are you calling me fat?"

"What, no," Haku replied, picking up his cinnamon bun with his other hand. "What I mean is, your chest is sort of, stretching the material. You've had the shirt for almost two years now, and you've obviously grown since then. I know how you feel about people starring."

Hinata blushed. "Oh ...w-well, that's true. But, my hoodie is baggy enough, so I'll be fine," she said, before starring down at her chest. "Though, now that you mention it, I really hope I'm done growing. Its getting hard to find bras in my size at the clothing store."

"There is a bright side, Hina-chan."

"What bright side?"

"We have a magical way to transport clothes right to our house," Haku said as he chewed his food. "Its called Internet shopping. Besides, my grandmother had a saying: only the blessed complain over a blessing."

"If you can call hours of bra shopping and unwanted attention a blessing," Hinata said as she continued eating.

"Anyway, the mail came today, and it looks like we got a few letters from your readers."

" _Our_ readers," Hinata corrected him. "You're just as much apart of this as I am."

Haku chuckled, holding the letters out to her. "Right, _our_ readers. I didn't open them, yet. I thought you should have the honors this time since I opened them last time."

Hinata took them, an excited smile gracing her lips. She slowly tore open one of the envelopes, so as not to rip anything inside by accident, and pulled out a folded piece of notebook paper. She read the letter out loud.

"'Dear Hyuga-senpai'," she giggled a little, finding it flattering, and somewhat amusing being called 'senpai'. "'I'm a huge fan of your books, and the pictures are so well drawn. I can tell that you and Yuki-san work really hard on making each book great. I know I wrote this in the last letter I sent, but I really love the relationship between Genji and Takashi, and Genji is so funny with the stuff he puts Takashi through. Though, I feel kinda bad for Miku. I hope you're both doing well and I can't wait to read your next book. From your biggest fan, Moegi. P.S, are you and Yuki-san dating?'"

Haku laughed. "Well, that brings back memories," he said. "Wouldn't be the first time someone thought we had a thing going."

"Yeah, I know, and living in the same house doesn't help much. Not that I mind, honestly," Hinata put the opened letter on the table and started on the next envelope, for the first time it wasn't addressed to her or the both of them. "Looks like you have a personal fan letter, Haku." She said, sliding it across the table to him.

Haku stopped it before it could slid over the edge with his finger tips. He opened it and took out two papers; the one on top had ' **Please Read First** ' written in bold black letters, and the other was good quality drawing paper. Haku shrugged and unfolded the first one. "'Yuki-san, as always, your drawings are so hot. Hope you like the fan art, its not much, but I tried to make it as close to the original thing as possible.'" Haku unfolded the second paper and gave it a thoughtful look over. "Hm, Not bad."

"C-can I see?"

"Sure."

Haku handed her the paper. Hinata could admit that her own drawing skills weren't exactly horrible, though they were far from being as good as Haku's. Mostly because she focused more so on her writing, only picking up a pencil to draw every once in a while. But, she had a good eye when it came to art.

Haku said that the picture wasn't bad and he wasn't just saying that, it really wasn't bad. If anything, the picture was beautify drawn; no colors were used, and the artist was good at drawing hands and feet, though the hair and eyes needed work. Aside from the slight differences, at first glance, someone would have probably thought Haku draw the picture himself.

"I wish I could draw this well," Hinata said, smiling. "Every time I see good drawings like this, I can't help but be a little envious."

"You're a writer, Hina-chan," Haku stated, sipping his coffee. "Look at it this way, its like a game. You spend all of your time level up your writing skills, so of course drawings not going to be as good. The opposite goes for me, I couldn't write a book to save my life."

"I'm sure you could if you tried," Hinata said. She gave the picture back and focused on looking through the last of the letters. Three of them were more mail from fans, but the last one caught her complete off guard. It wasn't a fan letter at all. It was an official letter from Toad Animations, a studio in Konoha that was known for making great animated movies. A lot of people considered it Japan's 'Disney that wasn't Disney', if that made any sense.

Had it not been for her name and address being on the envelope, she would've thought the mailman made a mistake. Raising an eyebrow, Hinata tore it open and read the typed up letter inside.

 _Dear Hyuga-san,_

 _As the Chief Director of Toad Animations_

 _I would like to inform you that we have considered animating you prize winning book._

 _As a writer myself, I'm very impressed with your work, as well as many of my staff._

 _A meeting has been set for March/xx/20xx,_

 _If you have a need to reschedule please call and notify us._

 _We hope to see you soon._

 _Yours Truly,_

 _Chief Director Jiraiya._

 _Jiraiya, the Jiraiya._ Hinata starred at the latter, her mouth open as she read it over and over. Haku noticed her expression and asked in concern. "Hinata, are you okay?"

The young author didn't answer him for a few seconds. "This can't be real. I-I've gotta be dreaming." She looked over at him. "Haku, did I happen to fall back to sleep when you woke me up?"

"Um, no."

"So, I'm awake."

"Yeah, unless you usually have dreams about me," Haku said. "Which would make me really question what you have dream me doing."

 _Wow, I can't believe it. This is really happening._ Hinata felt the excitement building, until she couldn't hold it in anymore. The meek girl hopped out of her chair, laughing and dancing. "Yes! This is the best day ever!"

"Hinata, what-."

"Haku, look, look." Hinata practically bounced around the table and showed the letter to Haku, "read what it says."

Haku leaned his head back a bit from the paper that had been shoved in his face. He took the paper and read the letter. "Well, I didn't expect this."

"I know, right," Hinata agreed with a dreamy smile. "I-I never once thought, or even dreamed that anyone in the animation industry would even glance at our book, and to be found by someone like Jiraiya-san. Oh, I feel like I'll faint."

"Knowing you, you just might faint," The androgynous young man stood up and made Hinata sit back in her seat. "Why don't you sit down before you really do pass out."

"Wow, this is just ...unbelievable."

Haku laughed. "You could say that senpai noticed you, huh?"

"Wait ...you're right. S-senpai did notice me! I have to tell Kurenai-san about this," Hinata stood up again, twirled around Haku and race from the dinning room for the phone to call her sister. The young man laughed behind her. It was only morning and everything was already starting off great.

Nothing less than death could kill her mood right now, and even if it did, she felt like she could die happy.

Hinata picked up the wireless phone from its charger on the small table, humming as she dialed her publisher's cellphone. it rang only two times before someone picked up.

" _Hello, Kurenai speaking?_ "

"Good morning, Kurenai-san! You won't believe what happened~!"

" _Calm down a bit, Hinata,_ _I do enjoy being able to hear._ "

"Oh, sorry," Hinata giggled. "You won't believe what happened. Senpai noticed me! Isn't that great?"

" _Wait, what senpai?_ "

"Oh, right, I should probably tell you about the letter I got," Hinata said.

She began telling her publisher about the letter from Toad Animations. Sure, Hinata would be seeing the older woman in about an hour or less, but she was so excited it didn't even matter. Her and Haku's hard work was being recognized; that gave her a feeling of pride and she would have to work that much harder, because she was still growing, with tons of things to bring to the table she hadn't even thought of yet.

* * *

That's it for now, the next chapter will be out soon. Remember to review~!


	3. Episode 3: Boys Love Publisher

And so another chapter has arrived, it would've been out sooner, but I was kinda binge watching RWBY and Adventure Time. I honestly don't know why I didn't finish watching RWBY before, seeing as I was on episode 2 of the first season. I'm caught up, now, though so I can finally focus on my stories again without getting detracted and wanting to watch more episodes.

* * *

Episode 3: Boys Love Publisher

Hinata looked out of the window as the bus continued along the road at a manageable speed. The view of the city was always something she found she enjoyed; while Konoha was a modernized city, most of its charms came from the fact that a lot of the village style houses and buildings never got changed, and if she were to be honest she rather the street she lived on stay that way.

"You know, I just remembered something," Haku said suddenly from the seat beside her.

Hinata turned to her friend. "What is it?"

"The Inuzuka pet shop that we always see near Ami-chan's, from what I've heard they're supposed to be moving closer to our district," he said.

"R-really, that's sorta sudden, isn't it," Hinata said, surprised. She and Haku were friends with the owner's brother, and had known him since high school. "Did Kiba say why?"

"He said something about his sister finding a better spot for a lower cost, and since the Shinobi district has a lot of open space for the animals to play and exercise, they decided to move."

"Oh, well, good for them. I'm sure Akamaru will be happy with having more space to run around."

Smiling, Haku gave a nod. "With a dog his size, I wouldn't doubt it."

Outside the window, the scenery of fields and old style homes changed to that of the inner city, a sign on the sidewalk reading 'Sarutobi Road', one of the first streets the bus took leading into the district right next door to theirs.

The bus passed through town square and the Hokage Tower, one of the more famous city landmarks aside from the Shinobi grave stone and pulled to a stop at the station. Along with Haku and Hinata, half the people on board exited the city owned vehicle, and another wave of people got on to replace them.

As usual, Konoha's Hokage district was the most crowded part of the city during this time of day; tourists, teens most likely playing hooky, and even businessmen and women headed off to their jobs, while others were just hanging around having a good time. The two didn't have to travel far from where they got off; the cafe, Ami-chan's, was four blocks from the station, right at the edge of the small section of the Konoha most people knew as, Otaku City.

No one really knew how that part of the city got its name; some say that it was meant as an insult to those that it catered to, while most residents of the city believe it was passed around by teenagers around the mid-eighties and early nineties and the name stuck. Elder folks thought it was nothing but bad news, rotting the minds and work ethic of the youth and because of that, many otakus were looked down on by the older generation. However, the options of so few people did nothing to stop the business and large crowds of people Otaku City brought in on a daily basis.

The two housemates split off from the crowd of pedestrians when they reached the corner of the next block, and they walked into Ami-chans. The average sized cafe's small bells above the door jingled as the door opened and closed behind them. Haku and Hinata walked down the three steps of the small platform near the front; the tables were covered by nicely decorated tablecloths of different colors and shades, ranging from sea-blue to dark red and the redwood floor was polished and swept and the waiters and waitresses made their way from table to table, taking orders and handing out food.

Not seeing any sign of her publisher, Hinata took a seat at one of the empty tables closest to the back, while Haku left her to go change into his work uniform. A rather thin man with short dark brown hair, working behind the counter greeted the young man, smiling as he handed a costumer his food to go.

"Ah, Haku, mornin'."

Haku returned the smile. "Good morning, Tetsu-san," he stood with his hand on the back door, leading to the kitchen and changing room. "Where's Ami-san? I expected to see her with you."

"She had something to take care of. But, she should be back later," the man said. Haku gave a nod and walked through the 'employee only' door.

Hinata starred out the window at the passing people for the first few minutes. _I wonder where Kurenai-san is, she's usually here before us._ She let out a sigh and laid her bag on the table and took out her manuscript and began reading through it from the beginning. As much as she wanted to believe that she had done her best, she couldn't help feeling that the first few chapters weren't as good as they could have been, even though Haku told her he couldn't find any problems with it.

 _Everything lines up with what happened in the last book just fine. The writings alright. But, I can't seem to put my finger on what problem I have with the first chapters._ Hinata tapped her finger on the table with a thoughtful expression on her face. _It could be the dialog? The characters are in character, though, and react the way they would in the situations they are in ...maybe, Haku's right. I'm probably over thinking it, like always._

"Um ...excuse me," a young girl's voice spoke.

Hinata looked up from rereading her manuscript, taking in the sight of the young girl standing next to her table. She was a short girl, who had to be about ten or eleven. She was holding a brief bag, wearing a white blouse tucked into a black skirt, with a black tie and blazer.

 _She must have gotten out of school early._ The young woman thought, before she smiled. "Yes, can I help you with something?"

"That depends," the girl said. "Are you, Hyuga Hinata, by any chance."

Hinata blinked in surprise. "Y-yes, that's my name."

"R-really," the young girl said in a hopeful tone. She opened her bag and pulled out a book, one Hinata knew like the back of her hand. "The same Hyuga Hinata who wrote _My Life With Genji-san_ , right?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, the same."

"Oh ...oh, wow, I am a huge fan! I just love your books, senpai~!"

"T-thank you very much," Hinata said with a small blush. Today was just full of surprises, it seemed. First getting that letter and now this. "I'm very glad that you enjoy my books."

The young girl was bouncing on her toes now, a wide smile on her face. "Who wouldn't enjoy your books. The forbidden love between Genji and Takashi, and the love triangle with Takashi's childhood friend. I'll admit, at first I thought I was gonna hate Miho, but I don't. I feel kind of bad for her, actually," she said, before she held the book out to the yaoi writer. "I-is it alright if I get your autograph, Hyuga-san?"

"Sure, I don't see why not," Hinata took the book from her hands and pulled out a pen from her bag. It was only the first book of her series, the one that got everything started, and a hardback, limited edition copy at that. "Who am I making it out to?"

"Yagumi Chiko."

Giving a nod, Hinata opened up the book and wrote just behind the cover.

 _To my biggest fan, Yagumi Chiko_

 _May you be successful in life_

 _-_ _Hyuga Hinata_ _._

Hinata closed the book and handed it back to the young girl. "Here you go."

Her young fan opened up the book, read what was written. "Wow ...thank you," Chiko said, smiling at the author as she hugged the book to her chest. "Thank you so much, Hyuga-san."

"Y-you're very welcome."

"It was really great meeting you, senpai. I can't wait to show this to my friends, they're gonna be so jealous."

The young girl did a quick bow, then turned and skipped away, humming happily to herself as she left the cafe. Hinata smiled and put her pen back in her bag. _Today really is turning out to be the best day ever._ She thought, glancing back down at her manuscript. Not only did this encounter make her feel good about her work, but it also helped take her mind off what she was thinking about before. _Such a nice girl, I'm lucky to have such great readers._ She giggled.

 _ **~(2)~**_

Haku looked in the mirror as he pulled the black tail-coat over the blue vest and white blouse of his uniform, before pulling his long black hair back and styling it into a ponytail with a blue hairband, his hair stopping where the tails of his coat began. Giving himself a once over, the young man nodded to himself and buttoned the coat, finishing his look.

The butler and maid style clothing, like some other cafes in the Otaku City area, was a trademark; every employee of Ami-chan's, aside from the cooks and the owners, wore it as their uniform. Back when Haku had first started, he wasn't sure if he really liked the style much. He had never been into the whole 'servant and master' setting, but he needed the money, so he gave it a try. Turns out, it wasn't as bad as he first thought it would be. In fact, he quite enjoyed it.

Having been raised by his mother to be a polite, nice and well mannered, plus spending a year in his high school drama club, pulling off the whole butler role-play came much easier than it did to most. The attention he got wasn't so bad, either. in fact, a lot of high school girls came and even asked him to sit at their table for some reason or another.

 _Well, time to get to work._ Haku tugged out a small wrinkle in his top, and walked out of the room and steeped out the door leading to the changing rooms and the kitchen. After a short look around the cafe, he took notice of the happy looking girl standing next to Hinata's table, while the young author herself wrote something in a book. She returned the book back to the girl, and the girl bowed and headed towards the front door.

Haku walked over to the table, watching the young girl leave the cafe, before he focused on Hinata. "So, who's your friend, Hina-chan?"

Hinata looked up at him and smiled. "Oh, you know, a fan," she said dismissive, blushing. "She actually asked for my autograph, can you believe it? Though, she seems a bit young to be reading my books."

Haku snorted. "A bit young? Isn't that sorta the pot calling the kettle black?"

"Y-yeah," Hinata said, giving a meek laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. "I guess I really don't have room to say such things, huh?"

"With all the hentai and doujinshi you read in high school, I don't think so," Haku said softly, chuckling. "And lets not forget the entire volumes of _Icha Icha Paradise_ and _Village Of Lovers_ , you finished before you were like, what, eleven."

"Ten," Hinata corrected him. "And I'll have you know I take pride in knowing I finished all those books in a year. Not many people can say that."

Haku shrugged. "Probably can't say that they stole from their uncle's private library, either."

" _Borrowed_ ," Hinata corrected again. "I borrowed them, and returned them. Besides, its not like I got caught."

Haku laughed, about to give his usual snarky retort, when a woman's voice called out loudly. "Hey, waiter-san." Haku looked over at the woman, and pointed to himself. "Yeah, you, I'm ready to order over here."

"Of course," Haku nodded, smiling. "I'll be right there."

"Well, that was sorta rude," Hinata muttered. She pouted as she glanced over at the woman. "She's acting like she didn't see us talking."

"She's a costumer," Haku said, lightly poking the writer on the tip of her nose.

"S-still, she didn't even say excuse me," Hinata said.

"Well, not every is as reserved and polite as you. I had to get started, anyway," Haku said. "Let me know if you or Sarutobi-san need anything when she gets here."

"Always."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, young miss."

Haku put a hand over his heart and bowed eloquently. He gave his friend a smile, before he turned and walked towards the woman, looking every part the butler character he was meant to play during his shift. _Thank you, high school drama club._ He thought.

"Welcome to Ami-chan's, ma'am," Haku greeted, pulling out his notepad from his breast pocket. "What will you be having today?"

"How does the dango taste here," the woman asked. Her black hair was cut short with a noticeable blue tint, and her eyes were lined with purple eyeliner, both her ears pierced with small, red skull earrings, that matched well with the black studded jacket she wore. "A friend of mine told me it was good. Like, the best around these parts and she tends to have good taste in sweets."

"Well, she's right," Haku said. "The dango here is good."

The woman smirked. "You being honest, or are you saying that because you work here?"

"Trust me, ma'am, if the food was bad, I'd tell you to pick something else," Haku stated.

"Hm ...alright, I'll take your word for it," the woman said. "Let me get the dango special with green tea, add extra sugar, and sweet bean soup."

"Of course," Haku wrote down the order, then slid the pen back into his breast pocket. "Would you like anything while you wait?"

"You sell sake?"

"No, sorry. We do have water and cold tea, though."

"Well, that sucks," the woman sighed, "a water will be fine, I guess."

Haku gave her a nod. "Your order will be coming up shortly," he bowed, and walked away from the table.

He ripped the paper from the notepad and handed it to the older man working the register; Tetsu read it, turned around and attached the paper to a small moving hook rack that moved the orders to the kitchen.

In the time that it took for the woman's food to get ready, the feminine young man took the woman her glass of water, waited three more tables, and even stopped to have a short chat with Hinata, who was still going over her manuscript and checking for errors, though Haku had done that the night before.

The small bell at the front counter rang. "Haku, the meal for table five is ready," the owner said, loudly. Haku ended his conversation with his friend and walked over to the counter; the dark haired woman's order was already there, setup neatly on a large blue tray; he picked up the tray and took the food over to the table.

"Thank you for waiting, ma'am," Haku said, as he laid each dish on the table.

"You don't have to call me 'ma'am', good lookin'," the woman said, winking at him. "My name's Anko."

"Well, Anko-san, enjoy your meal."

"Oh, I will," Anko said. She picking up one of her dango sticks and leaned closer to the waiter. The woman smirked and whispered. "You've provided a great service. Maybe, I can return the _favor_ sometime, hm," she suggestively licked one of the dangos and ate it.

Haku blushed lightly, chuckling. "Uh ...that sounds nice and all, but I'll have to pass. Sorry."

The woman laughed. "I'm just joking with you," she ate the next dango from the stick. "I was serious about what I said before though, you are good looking."

"Thank you," Haku said, smiling. "That's nice of you to say."

Anko leaned and looked past him; he followed her gaze to Hinata. "I saw you talking to her. She the lucky girl who snagged you?"

"No, we're close friends," Haku said. _And housemates._ He thought. He felt it would be better keeping that little detail to himself, not knowing how the punk styled woman would take it.

"Funny, the way you both interact, I thought you were closer," Anko said.

"Believe me, you're not the first one to say that," Haku said. "Anyway, I will get out of your hair, Anko-san."

"Sure, back to work you go then, good lookin'."

Haku gave her a nod, bowed, and left; as he walked away from the table, the small bell at the counter rang again and one of the other waiters took the order over to the assigned table. Haku was had just finished taking down an order from a young couple seated at table two near the window, when he spotted a familiar woman with long, black hair and a small child short hair the same color, who was dressed in a school uniform approaching the cafe door through the front window.

The paired walked in, the bell above the door jingling as they entered and the door closed behind them. The woman took hold of the child's hand and greeted Haku with a smile.

"Good morning, Haku," she said. "Sorry for getting here later than usual. I got a little held up this morning with Mirai's parent teacher meeting."

"Its quite alright, Sarutobi-san. Education is important, after all," Haku said to her. He then turned his attention to the little girl next to her. "So, no school today, huh?"

The little girl shook her head. "Nope, everybody got to leave early," she frowned. "But, our teacher still gave us homework."

"No one likes homework, believe me. I'm sure you'll be happy when you don't have to do it anymore. I know I am."

"Yeah, I can't wait," Mirai said, smiling. "Mama's taking me to the park after this, too. Oh, and can I have some of that fruit yogurt with the chocolate chips in it~?"

Haku chuckled. "You'll have to ask your mother."

He turned his focus back on the older woman, about to say something, when a voice shouted over from across the cafe. "Kurenai, its about time you got here!"

"Hi, auntie," Marai greeted, smiling and waving at the punk goth dressed woman three tables away.

Haku glanced over at Anko, then back at Kurenai. "I take it you two know each other?"

"Yes, we're old college buddies," Kurenai answered. "She's going to be in town for the week, so I thought it would be nice to introduce Hinata to her. They have a lot in common."

Haku smiled, "that's good, Hinata could always use more friends. Speaking of which, she's waiting for you at her usual table. Sorry for not being able to chat longer, but I've got to get back to work now. I don't get paid to just stand around after all."

"Of course, keep up the good work."

Haku gave a nod and went to the counter to pass off the next order; at the same time another order was finished. He took the tray of food over to the assigned table, then he went over to another table and cleared away the dishes and took them put them on the counter to be taken to the back for washing.

While Ami-chan's may not have been his favorite place to work, nor his first pick for jobs, one of the perks to working in the cafe was the interactions he had with countless customers on a daily basis. Haku had met more than a few interesting people.

 _ **~(3)~**_

Hinata had been just about to fall asleep at her table, when she heard the voice of her publisher call her name. Her head shot up and she adjusted the glasses on her face, before she looked over at the older woman. Though, she was caught off guard a bit, not expecting to see Kurenai's little girl and the other woman who she had dubbed rude, to show up next to her.

"Oh ...Kurenai-san, good morning," she greeted the woman.

"Its more so afternoon, now," Kurenai said, smiling. "Sorry for the wait, something came up on my way here that i almost completely forgot about."

"I-its fine." Hinata smiled at the little girl, "and how are you feeling, Mirai? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm okay, we got out of school early today," Mirai said, happily.

"I see, that's great," the young author looked up at Kurenai and the woman standing next to her. "So, who's this you have with you?"

Kurenai smiled. "Hinata, I'd like you to meet my friend, Mitarashi Anko," she introduced her friend. "Anko, this is Hyuga Hinata. The young talent I told you about."

"Oh, _this_ is the author of that boys love book you got me reading," Anko said, sizing up the younger woman. "I'm ...kinda surprised. Not what I expected for a fujoshi."

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "W-what's that suppose to mean?"

"I'm just saying, you're much easier on the eyes than I thought you'd be, that's all," Anko said, matter of factually. "I expected someone more ...whats the word? ...Unattractive."

Hinata blushed, looking about as offended as she felt. "E-excuse me?"

"Anko, seriously," Kurenai let out a sigh, and turned to her friend. "You just don't know what to say, and what not to say, do you?"

"What? It's a compliment!"

"Mama, what a fujoshi? Is it bad?" Mirai asked.

Kurenai looked down at her daughter. "I'll tell you when you're older," she said, before she looked back at Hinata. "And as for Anko, you'll have to excuse her. She has a habit of saying things to people that she shouldn't." She turned to her friend. "Anko, don't you have something you want to say?"

Anko sighed. "My bad, I didn't mean anything by what I said."

"I-its ...fine," Hinata said. She barley knew this person, so she was willing to let her rudeness go, granted it didn't continue. "Um ...you can all have a seat if you want, there's more than enough room."

Kurenai and her daughter took a seat in the extra chairs at the table, and Anko had to grab an extra chair from her original table. She also grabbed her meal, having yet to finish her soup and tea. Someone would've thought Anko pretty much swallowed the dangos whole, considering how fast she ate them.

"Mama, can I get something from here," Mirai asked.

Kurenai thought for a moment. "It is lunch time. What did you want, sweetie?"

"Oh, the coffee cake that we got last time was good," Mirai said, happily. "I want that. Oh, and the chocolate chip yogurt~!"

"Alright, fine, there's not need to be so loud, Mi," the publisher said, smiling. "Lets use our inside voices, alright."

the little girl nodded, kicking her feet excitedly under the table. "Okay."

"What about you, Kurenai," Anko asked, taking a sip of her tea. "You aren't getting anything?"

"I ate before I left the house, so I'm not really hungry," Kurenai answered. "I might get something to take home for later. Maybe get a slice of carrot cake for Asuma, since he likes it so much."

Hinata smiled when her publisher brought up the name. Asuma had been one of her teachers around the time she and Haku had been in high school. He usually acted as their gym instructor, and even substituted for the English teacher a few times when the real teacher got sick. Last she heard from Kurenai, he was struggling with trying to quit smoking, more for Mirai's sake than his own, since the little girl was allergic to tobacco.

"How is Asuma doing these days, anyway," Anko asked.

"Trying to quit smoking, coaching a few new boxers at the gym," Kurenai answered. "The usual stuff."

"Wait, when did Asuma-san become a coach?" Hinata asked, slightly surprised; the Sarutobi boxing gym, while not as famous as Hokage tower and Otaku City, still saw its fair share of tourist attention.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Asuma's father, had been one of the top boxers of the world back in his youth, and naturally, his son had also tried to pick up where the old legend had left off, and if not for the arm injury he got in an accident, Asuma most likely would've made it.

"A month or so ago," the older woman said. "He'd been thinking about taking the gym over since Hiruzen-san passed, and until recently, he'd been on the fence about it. But, with so many new people signing up to become boxers, he felt like he should continue his father legacy."

"That's great," Hinata said, with a smile. "I hope everything goes well for him."

"Yeah, and who knows, maybe he could make little Ms. Pipsqueak here how to dish out a knockout punch," Anko said, ruffling Mirai's short dark hair.

The six-year-old waved her hand away. "I'm not a pipsqueak, auntie," she said, pouting.

"Of course you're not, Mirai," Hinata said. "You're a big girl."

"Yeah, hear that, auntie, I'm a big girl," Mirai said. "And one day, I'm gonna be older than you."

Anko chuckled. "Well, when that happens, then you can boss me around for once. Deal?"

Mirai gave a nod. "Deal!"

The young author giggled. It was a shame that Mirai was growing up so fast; Hinata honestly wanted her to stay young and innocent forever. The little girl seemed to get taller and taller every time she saw her. _Kids always say the cutest thing, even when they don't mean to._ She mused.

After the three women had a good laugh. Kurenai politely called over one of the maid dressed waitresses and ordered the meal that her daughter had asked for. When the waitress left, she began speaking to Hinata.

"Anyway, the manuscript is finished," she asked.

"Yep, its right here," Hinata reached into her bag and pulled out the bound pack of papers and handed it over to the older woman. "It might be some of our best work, yet."

"With as much hard work as you and Haku-kun put into it, I'd expect nothing less."

"Kinda funny how I'm sitting here looking at the complete third volume, and I haven't even finished the second one," Anko said, before giving a shrug. "My work never gives me enough time to finish books, even video games get pushed to the side."

"What is it that you do, Anko-san," Hinata asked, shyly. "I-if you don't mind me asking."

"Nah, its cool," Anko leaned in and whispered. "I'm a mangaka, a pretty big one, believe it or not."

"W-wait, seriously?"

"You bet."

"That's actually one of the reasons I wanted to introduce you two," Kurenai said, looking up from skimming through the thick manuscript. "I thought you meeting someone who had a similar job as you would spark some sort of new friendship. Besides, Haku did tell me you needed more friends."

 _Not really._ Hinata thought, she wasn't much good around the public. Haku was more of a people person than she was. However, Kurenai had invited her friend to meet her, so she'd be nice about it. "I-I guess I could use a _few_ new friends," she said, meekly, before asking. "So, Anko-san, what types of mangas do you make? Have I heard of any?"

Anko smirked. "I'm pretty sure you have," she said, proudly. "It was a pretty big deal when you were probably still in high school; a little project called: _Trail Of The Sand Snake_."

"You made _Trail Of The Sand Snake_ ," Hinata said in surprise. "I loved that anime in high school. I mean, it was a bit gory at times. But, even some of the 'cool' none otaku kids talked about Orochi like he was a real person."

"Believe it or not, Anko thought her manga was going to tossed to the side," Kurenai said, smiling. "She wouldn't admit it, but she was close to throwing away her entire story board. I mean _everything_ , and start from scratch because she thought no one would like what she came up with."

"It's kinda true, but what can I say, I was nervous," Anko admitted, chuckling. "I'm just lucky you talked me out of doing that shit, Kurenai. My career would've ended before it even started."

Hinata smiled. _Maybe there's more to Anko-san than I thought. She a bit rude, but she doesn't seem all bad._ The boys love writer remembered when she had first decided to start writing the very first volume of her light novel. Hinata had been excited; the world would see her talent and read her story. However, once it was done, she began to have doubts.

What if people hated her story? What if people thought she was some weirdo for writing such things? Questions like those and many others went through her mind, and eventually, she ended up throwing her entire finished manuscript in the trash.

It must have been fate that Kurenai who ended up being the one to finding the manuscript in the garbage, and it was luck that she hadn't tossed the last bit of her coffee in the trashcan before she spotted it. She noticed that the paper stack was a manuscript right away; from what Haku told her, Kurenai took the manuscript out the trash and took it home to read just for curiosities sake, and she ended up loving the story. It had errors here and there, but other than that, she found the story to be erotic, somewhat edgy and heartwarming. An odd combination for a boys love novel.

Long story short, she tracked down Hinata, which wasn't really hard since she was the only Hinata in the city with a famous last name like Hyuga, which was written on the front page of her manuscript at the time. She drove to her house and somehow convinced her to take a chance and let Kurenai her story, and Hinata was glad she did, and so was Haku.

"Kurenai-san, I wanted to show you this," Hinata reached into her bag, and pulled out the folded letter and held it out to the red eyed woman. "Its the letter I got from Toad Animations."

Kurenai took the letter and unfolded it. She read it before she spoke. "I'll be honest, I don't know much about the animation business, but I do know Jiraiya-san quite well."

"Really?"

"Yes, he's practically family. Asuma's father was his teacher, and I guess you could say he was also Jiraiya's godfather, in a way," Kurenai explained, handing the letter back to the young author. "He doesn't send letters to just anyone, so he must really see something in your story to make him want to animate it."

"D-do you think I _should_ ," Hinata asked. "I mean, not every book is good when animated, and I didn't take that into account when I wrote it."

"And you shouldn't," Anko interjected. "Write what you want to write. If you were writing with the intent of having it animated, you'd be better off just writing a script or something. Hell, my latest project, _Hidden Lotus_ , didn't do so well as an anime, either. But, as a manga, it was a hit. Like top ten material, and it still is," she paused. "I say you take the chance, and even if the animation is horrible, you'll get more people looking at the original source."

"That's usually what happens," Kurenai said. "But, I can't make the decision for you. If Jiraiya sent you a letter, he must think an animated adoption will be good, and with his track record of making popular and decent animes, there is a good chance he's right. Take your time and think about it, there's no need to rush into anything."

 _She's right, I should probably think hard about this before choosing to do anything._ Hinata thought. She was quiet for a moment, "t-thanks for the advice, Kurenai-san."

"No problem," the older woman said, smiling. "Now, back to the manuscript. This scene where Genji and Takashi go to the mountain hot springs-."

"Whoa, hold up," Anko but in. "Are you both about to talk about the book _here_?"

Kurenai gave a nod. "Yes, why?"

"Um, spoilers, duh," Anko said, giving her a look. "I'm not even done the first volume, remember. If you talk about what happens, you're gonna ruin it for me."

"But, we always talk about what happens," Hinata said.

Anko signed. "Well, luckily for me I have to get going, anyway. Story lines don't write themselves." She quickly drank down her now cool tea and soup and stood up from the table. "It was nice meeting you, Hinata. Keep doing what you're doing; if you ever want to talk or something, though," the mangaka pulled a small card from her jacket pocket and handed it to Hinata. "My calling card with my e-mail, cell and house number. Just, keep in mind that if I don't answer the phone, its most likely because I'm on a roll in my work."

Hinata giggled. "Oh, I know what that's like," she said, putting the card in her bag. "It was nice meeting you, too. Anko-san, I hope you have a nice rest of the day."

Anko gave her a nod, then turned to the little girl and her mother. "I'll probably call you tonight, Kurenai. See ya, Pipsqueak."

"You won't be calling me that for long," Mirai said, sticking her tongue out at the woman.

Anko laughed and left the table and out the front door, the bells above them jingling as they closed behind her. A waitress came over a few minutes later and placed Mirai's food on the table. The young author and her publisher then went back to discussing the manuscript to see if there were any last minute edits or changes Hinata wanted to make before the book hit the shelves.

With everything she had done, Hinata didn't get home until just after sunset, having spent much of the day in Otaku City with Kurenai and her daughter after she had decided that she had done what she wanted and that nothing else could be done to make what she wrote any better than it already was. At least, not in her eyes.

"Do you think we did alright with the manuscript," Hinata asked as she plopped down on the couch next to her housemate.

Haku turned to her and nodded. "We did fine. In fact, I think we did better than the other volumes we put out," he said, smiling, counting off the different things they had improved on his fingers. "The books longer, we added more pictures, and wrapped up questions that weren't answered before, and added new questions at the same time. The readers are going to love it," he leaned forward and picked up the remote from the coffee table. "Let's relax just relax for now."

Hinata gave him a nod and smiled back. The two sat on the couch and watched the television; all the while, the boys love writer was still wondering to herself. _To animate, or not to animate? ...This is much harder to decide than I thought it'd be._

* * *

That's a wrap, for now! The next chapter will be out soon, remember to review, they help a lot in making me better at what I do.


	4. Episode 4: Boys Love Tea

And here is the new chapter! Sorry for the wait, so many new animes came out and I finally finished Drifters, such an awesome series. Enough about what I've been up to, though, on with the story. Enjoy!

* * *

Episode 4: Boys Love Tea

 _Of all the days to get sick, I had to catch something today. This is why I don't go outside._

Hinata laid back in bed, a small shiver making its way down her back and her cheeks flushed. She felt tired. She felt cold. But, most of all she felt like two tons of crap and that didn't seem like the right words to express how crappy she felt at the moment.

She held in a cough as Haku pulled the digital thermometer from her mouth and looked at it. "Ninety-nine point three, you defiantly have a fever," he said, using a small alcohol wipe to clean off the device.

"You would think me sweating myself to d-death-," Hinata couldn't finish. The cough she held itched at the back of her throat until she could no longer hold it. She turned away from Haku and coughed into her hand, doing her best to ignore the burning sensation in her throat that came with it, " ...was enough proof."

"I never said you weren't sick," Haku said. He put the thermometer back in its casing, and handed his housemate a sick mask. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't too bad, and to be honest, your bodies doing pretty good fighting off whatever you caught, seeing as you don't even have any medicine."

Hinata sighed. "Doesn't feel like it. This is why I'd rather stay inside most days; outside is filled with nothing but germs and rude people and accidents just waiting to happen."

"You're only saying that because you're sick, Hina-chan." Haku peeled off his plastic gloves and tossed them into the small trash can at her bedside.

"W-well, its true," Hinata retorted, wrapping herself in her sheets. She was pretty sure the cold she was feeling was only her, since the weather forecast said it was going to be warm out for the rest of the day. "All those school trips I missed, because I was sick. I'm lucky I got to school most days, let alone graduate."

"You catch colds easily, a lot of people do," Haku said. "The best thing for you to do is get some rest, and let it run its course."

Hinata coughed, then gave a nod. "I know that, I just ...hate being sick."

"Yeah," Haku said. "We might not be able to stop you from getting sick. Its a bit too late for that, but there are ways of helping you get over it faster."

"What, medicine?"

"I was actually thinking more so along the lines of tea," the artist said. "There's this special brand of tea they make at Yamanaka Herbs. I've never personally tried it myself, but a lot of the folks in Sakurai say its works miracles. Sweats the sickness right outta you. I could pick some up."

Hinata shook her head. "I-its fine, Haku, really," she let out a small cough. "You don't have to go all the way to Sakurai. I'll just drink the tea that's here."

"You sure," Haku asked. "I was planning on going to Sakurai anyway, to buy some more hair conditioner."

Hinata truly did feel horrible. But, she didn't want her best friend to go too far out of his way for her, even if she was sick. However, seeing as he was planning on going to Sakurai anyway, the yaoi author decided to take the young man up on his favor.

Being prone to sickness had always been one of the young woman's worst traits, heath wise, and was one of the reasons she tended to be such an introvert and somewhat of a shut-in. No matter what season, be it the coldest day in winter or the hottest day of summer. Hinata was bound to catch some type of cold at random, every three or four months like clockwork. Plenty of women on her mother's side of the family had the same trait, and the only one sparred from the threat of constant sickness was her younger sister, Hinabi. Which wasn't that surprising to anyone seeing as she had always been the strongest of the two.

She sometimes wished she could swap places with her sister. Or at the very least have an immune system that wasn't some attractive and inviting to germs and whatever else she came in contact with from the outside world.

"I-if its not too much trouble," Hinata said, softly. "I'd like to get over this cold as soon as possible. So, if you think it'll help, I'll try it."

Haku smiled. "The tea it is, then," he said, before leaving out the door of her bedroom.

Hinata wasn't sure how long she laid there for, trying her best to sleep, despite feeling so uncomfortable. She had the chills, but at the same time she felt very warm underneath her sheets. She rolled onto her side, hugging one of her extra pillows and let herself relax into her mattress. _That's a little better._

The introverted girl was close to dozing off, when she heard Haku walked back into her room. "Hinata, you asleep, yet?"

"J-just about," Hinata coughed and lifted her head a bit, glancing at him. "Did you forget something?"

"No. I brought you some water and crackers." Haku said, putting the two bottles of water and the box of seaweed crackers on her nightstand. "For when you get hungry. I should only be an hour, but call me if you need anything, alright?" Hinata gave a nod. Haku was about to leave the room, when Hinata called out to him.

"Oh, and Haku."

The androgynous young man stopped at the door and turned his head. "Yeah?"

"T-thanks, for always putting up with my sick periods," Hinata said, sincerely. "I know it can get annoying for you sometimes, cause its annoying for me. But, thanks for taking care of me."

Haku smiled. "Its not really an annoyance. I'd say more a slight inconvenience. Besides, if it means bettering your health, I don't mind the extra effort. Now, you get some sleep, Hina-chan. Hopefully, I will be back by the time you wake up." With that being said, Haku exited the bedroom, leaving the door slightly cracked.

Hinata laid back down and closed her eyes. She snuggled up against her pillow, the cool and soft material helping the young author drift into a pleasant void. _I'm never going outside again,_ she thought, partly awake. ... _Stupid germs._

 _ **~(2)~**_

The city owned vehicle slowed to a stop just before its front crossed the bus sign. The bus doors opened and an elderly lady hobbled off with the help of a cane, giving Haku a smile and wave. The young man returned the gesture and walked on, scanned his bus card, and went to find an empty seat; there were plenty of seats to choose from, seeing as there weren't many passengers on the bus headed for the small village; about five or six people at most, with three of them dressed up in camping outfits with hiking gear.

The large vehicle started moving the second his fare was paid. The bus Haku took to Sakurai village was the same bus he rode to get to work, only it went in the opposite direction; the bus's route was a straight drive through the country side, save for the three bus stops in between.

Haku decided on taking a seat near the back, his legs taking up two spots and his back leaned against the window. Once he was comfortable, he took a pair of blue and black headphones from his bag, along with an MP3 player, and began listening to one of his many playlists of music. Rides to Sakurai were always a relaxing ones, with all the green scenery; farms, grassy plains and the seemingly endless trees that made up Konoha Valley's forest.

It was a huge contrast to what was usually seen in the cities with its open space, fresh air and less noise.

Of course, both environments had their charms; where the countryside was quiet and had lots of space, it sometimes got a little _too_ quiet and somewhat lonely if someone were living on their own. At the same time, the city life was crowded and loud all the time, but there were always people to meet and things to see. Some people liked one side of the fence, and some liked the other.

Then, there were those who enjoyed the middle ground. That was what Haku loved about the neighborhood he lived in, it was far enough from the loud parts of Konoha City to be relatively quiet most days and still be close enough to not be completely silent.

The second stop the bus came to after almost a twenty-five minute drive was just outside of the entrance to a well known hiking and biking trail; half of the people got off, then the bus door closed and the driver continued onward to the last stop.

The sign for Sakurai appeared on the left side of the road moments before the trail leading to the village did, a large green leaf symbol carved into the wood over the name; the bus slowed to a stop outside of the village entrance, another wooden post embedded in the ground near the trail leading to the small settlement.

The bus doors opened, and the driver turned around and spoke. "This is the last stop. The next bus headed for Konoha City will arrive shortly. Everyone enjoy your day."

Haku got up from his seat, and followed the last few passengers off the vehicle. Once everyone was off, the doors closed and the bus continued down the road.

 _That felt like a much shorter ride than usual._ Haku thought. He stretched, before looking around at the view of the forest from the hilltop; the breeze was just right, warm and inviting, with very few clouds in the sky. From what he remembered hearing on the news, the weather would be sunny for a while. _Its a shame Hinata's too sick to enjoy it._ He started down the dirt path, letting his headphone hang loose around his neck. _Hopefully she'll get better soon before the rain and cloudy weather comes back._

It didn't take long before houses and buildings came into view, and soon Haku was walking among the crowd of villagers in the market place. Sakurai village was nowhere near as populated as the city, the amount of people who lived here was just over two-thousand, and everyone knew each other really well, which was to be expected in such a friendly place. There was an old saying in the village: 'all the fruits of the village sprout from the same tree.'

The people of Sakurai weren't just close neighbors and friends, they considered each other family, regardless of blood ties and the loyalty ran as deep as the roots of a tree, from one generation to the next; people were content in Sakurai, and even those residents who, years before, left to pursue their own dreams and ambitions, were welcomed back with open arms if they returned and, usually, they did come back.

As he glanced through the different stands and shops he passed by, Haku felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. The feminine young man turned around, a smile forming at the slightly older man before him, his short hair and eyes both raven black, and his skin naturally pale. He was wearing a blue t-shirt, brown pants and a pair of black saddles with a straw hat on his head to keep the sunlight out of his eyes.

"Sai," Haku greeted with a nod. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good, all things considered. Can't really complain," the pale man said. "So, where's Puppy-chan? She's usually either with you, or somewhere close by."

Haku chuckled. During a visit, Sai had pointed out once that Hinata tended to follow Haku around like a lost puppy, it wasn't exactly true, but Sai had given her the nickname and called her that for years ever since. "Hina-chan's kinda having a sick day."

"Really, that's a shame. I hope she gets better," Sai said.

"That's sorta why I came to Sakurai, actually," Haku said. "I'm on my way to the Yamanaka's shop, if you wanna come with, you can. Unless you have things to take care of."

Sai gave a thoughtful expression for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't see why not," he said. "We haven't had much time to catch up since I got back from art school." As the two began walking through the crowd, the pale man continued. "So, how is the writing career going?"

"Its going way better than Hinata and I expected it would when we first started making light novels, that's for sure. We recently finished the third book, and it should be published within the next week or so."

"With you being the artist, I'm not surprised," Sai said. "Though, I'm still wondering something."

"What," Haku asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You have a gift, friend, and before I continue, I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your life," Sai said. "But, don't you think your talent is being somewhat, what the word I'm looking for ... _wasted_ , in a way. I mean, what happened to going to Italy, traveling the world, wanting to be the next great artist of our time?"

"Well, nothing happened to my dream," Haku answered. "I still have the same dreams, and one day I _do_ still plan on visiting Italy."

"What about art school?"

"I'm ...still thinking on that," Haku said. "I'm taking things slow for now, and you don't need to go to art school to be a great artist. Besides, helping Hinata work on her books is fun and people love my drawings. I'm happy with that for now."

Sai gave a slight smile. It always struck Haku as odd looking; the smiles on the pale artist's face always seemed out of place, somehow, and unnerved a lot of people Sai interacted with. Haku was really the only one who didn't find his smiles all that off putting, mostly because he was used to them and knew the reason why. Sai had a pretty good childhood growing up, but didn't have many friends.

He and Hinata were both somewhat in the same social boat, when it came to how they interacted with people outside of their small group of friends, which was probably why they got along well. However, unlike the shy introverted author, Sai wasn't just a socially awkward person. He also had trouble empathizing with others and had a habit of being _very_ blunt and logical; a combination that turned most people away from him.

"So, you two still live together," Sai asked.

"Yep, and will for the foreseeable future."

"Ah, I see," Sai said. He was silent for a moment, then he smiled a little wider. "Any thought to when the wedding will be, or are you two not that far along, yet? Have you both never slept together after all this time?"

Haku was slightly taken aback by the question. "Whoa, h-hold the phone. Its not like that between us, Sai," he said, blushing slightly. "We're just friends, and Hina-chan doesn't she likes me in that way."

"How do you know," Sai asked. "Did it happen to come up in conversation?"

"Well ...no, but it doesn't need to, we're close friends and that's all. Besides, if Hina-chan did liked me in that way, I'm pretty sure I'd have pick up on it years ago."

Sai gave him a look, then chuckled and raised his hands in surrender. "Yes, you got me there. Puppy-chan never was very good at hiding her feelings, so you're right, it would have been plain as day," they continued walking until they reached the end of the market place, in front of them was a two-story building, that also acted as a house. "Well, here we are? I should leave you to your shopping."

"What, you're not coming inside," Haku asked.

Sai shook his head. "I promised Shin I'd help him clean out the basement once I got back. I don't want to keep him waiting."

"Oh, well in that case I won't hold you," Haku said. "Tell your brother I said hello."

"I'll be sure to pass it on. Until next time, Haku."

"Yeah, see you."

Sai gave him one last smile, before they parted ways, patting the feminine young man on the shoulder as he continued towards the village's housing district. Haku has been Sai's friend for years, and has known his older brother, Shin, for even longer. The two looked nothing alike and that was to be expected, seeing as the two weren't blood related, but rather, stepbrothers.

Shin's hair was gray, and his eyes were a lighter shade of black than his younger brother; Sai wasn't even Japanese, he and his father were Korean, and even then it was said that they were part Chinese through Sai's great grandfather. Which had to be true, seeing as the socially awkward artist had a twice removed cousin from China, who was also married to Hinata's older cousin, Neji.

 _Now that I think about it, won't that make Hinata and Sai family?_ Haku mused.

Once Sai disappeared from sight, Haku shifted the bag hanging across his shoulder into a more comfortable position, and entered the small plant shop, the silver bells above the door jingling. The pleasant smell of herbs, flowers and sweet scented candles was the first thing to hit Haku's nose the second he opened the shop door. There could have been a trash truck parked right in front of the store, and you'd probably never notice until you walked back outside.

The inside of Yamanaka Herbs had a very rustic, homey feel to it. There were kanji paintings on the walls, shelves filled with different naturally made products, and through the decorated screen straight across from the front door was a library and book store section; while not the best place to look through for buying popular mangas and books, it did have a good selection of translated classical books from famous authors, like Lewis Carroll's _Alice in Wonderland_ and H.P Lovecraft.

"Well, look who decided to stop by and pay me a visit," a young woman spoke. Haku turned towards the front counter, and smiled at the blonde teenager standing behind the register. She was dressed in a dark pink flower kimono, with her long hair being tied back in a ponytail and one bang covering her temple.

Haku walked over to the kimono clad girl. "And hello to you, too, Ino-san," he said, leaning against the counter top. "Inochi-san has you on the register again, I see."

"Yeah, pretty much," Ino signed, tapping her finger on the register. "Kinda sucks, but it has to be done. If I don't do it, no one else will. At least I'm getting paid, though."

"Ain't that the truth," Haku said. "How has business been?"

"Alright ...a little slow if you ask me," Ino answered. "But, everything will pickup once the Will of Fire festival starts in a few weeks," the young blond then leaned closer to Haku. "So, do you have a date for the festival, yet?"

"Uh ...to be honest, I haven't thought much about the festival."

"Seriously," Ino said, giving him a look. "Come on, Haku, with looks like yours it should be easy to get a date. I mean, you could go with Hinata, that would be fun."

"Hinata doesn't like the festival much, remember," Haku said. "Too many people. You know how she is with large crowds."

"Oh, yeah, almost forgot about that," Ino said. "You never know. Things might be different this year. She might change her mind if you go with her, you're the only one I've seen calm her down during one of her 'episodes'."

Haku shrugged. "Maybe. It depends on Hina-chan." _Ino could be right, and I can't even remembered the last time Hinata went to the festival. Not since that time with Shikamaru,_ He thought.

"The festival aside, though, what brings you to the store? The usual?"

"Actually, I'm here to pickup some of the special tea blend."

"Which one," Ino asked. "We have a ton for different stuff."

"The one for colds," Haku answered, "Hinata came down with something recently, and I thought coming here would help her better than that store brought medicine."

"So that's why she's not with you? I thought she was just off somewhere else; I hope she gets better soon," Ino said, softly. "As for the tea your looking for, its the red one called _Cinnamon Ruby_ , in aisle four, right under the decaf Chai tea."

Haku gave a nod and thanked the blond, then he headed for the tea aisle, checking through all of the teas until he bent down and found the one he was looking for in a folded, white paper bag with a sticker attached to the front that read ' _Cinnamon Ruby: best for the common cold and similar ailments_ '.

"Oh, Haku," Ino called out to him. The feminine young man grabbed the tea and stood, turning around and looking over the shelves. "There's another tea a little bit to your left called _Aqua Blueberry_ , you should get some for Hinata for when she starts to feel better. My grandmother used to give me some all the time when I got sick."

"Thanks, I think I might," Haku said. He began looking through the teas again for the one Ino recommend to him. She and her dad had never been wrong before, if there was something in the store they recommend for an ailment or could help with a certain problem, it usually worked. Maybe not right away like some people hoped, but eventually.

Besides, they made natural cures, not magic potions.

 _ **~(3)~**_

 _Hinata, the lovely and beautiful female knight, made her way down the damp, dark corridor of the stone tower, a large sword in one hand and her shield on her other arm, as the clanking armored boots she wore echoed with every step. She had just defeated a dragon not too long ago at the tower drawbridge. It had been a hard fight, and even her natural resistance to fire was tested. However, even though it was a hard struggle, she came out on top._

 _Now, she was ready to beat the final monster, the demon king, and rescue the princess._

 _Hinata was almost at the large gates of the demon king's throne room, when her boot sunk into the stone floor and she heard a loud rattling chain; the floor opened up underneath her feet and something shot out from the pitch darkness of the pit and wrapped around her ankle. The female knight let out a gasp, and before she could even try anything, she was dragged down the slippery, wet stone._

 _Down and down she went, the slide seeming to last forever, until it suddenly came to an abrupt end and she landed in water, soaking everything that she had completely._

 _Hinata sat up and scanned the room. It was much too dark to see anything, then she heard a loud clicking sound. The swordswoman got to her feet with her shield and sword raised. A torch lit up on the far wall, and almost like dominoes of fire, more burst to life in a complete circle around the large space._

 _The knight got her first clear look at the monster responsible for the clicking; it was large, red and had one giant eye, however, out of everything she noticed, there was one feature on the creature in particular that stood out. The many, many tentacles that were attached to it._

" _T-tentacles," Hinata muttered. "Why is there always a monster with tentacles?"_

 _As if on cue to reply to her question, the monster let out a horrid screech and attacked her, its large body moving in such a way that it gave her the creeps. She had read too many adult doujins not to know what those tentacles were for, and there was no way she was going to let it happen to her._

 _So, she did the only thing she could with a giant mass of appendages coming straight for her._

 _She ran the other way, screaming._

" _Kyaaa~!"_

 _ **XxXxX**_

"-nata ...Hinata? Hina-chan."

Hinata opened her eyes with a start, her heart pounding in her chest for a few short moments before the life drum began to calm down to a normal beat. Haku was standing over her bed, wearing the same clothes she had seen him in before he left.

"Oh ...H-Haku, welcome back," Hinata greeted, sitting up. She noticed the light of the sunset streaming through her window, along with a cool breeze that accompanied it. She felt the familiar itch in her throat and turned her head so she wouldn't send any germs at her housemate with her coughing.

"How are you feeling," Haku asked. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Kinda. I-I feel a little better, but I'm still tired," Hinata said. She reached over for the cup of water on her nightstand and drank down half the glass. "The dreams on the other hand. I think I could do without those." _I should probably calm down on reading 'those' doujins for a while._ She mentally added.

Haku chuckled. "With the stuff you were mumbling in your sleep. It seems to me that your ...erotic and questionable reading material is catching up with you, Hina-chan."

"W-wait ...I-I was mumbling," Hinata asked. She didn't usually talk in her sleep, but there were times it happened, like once in a blue moon. "What did I say?" _Please, just don't be anything embarrassing._

"Nothing important. Just something about tentacles and 'stop wiggling around in my armor'," Haku said, trying his best to hold back a laugh. "Other than that, everything else was hard to make out."

"Um ...I-I really said that," the fujoshi author asked.

Haku sputtered out a short laugh and nodded. Hinata covered her face with her hands and groaned, while she wasn't as embarrassed as she would have been if she had been heard by anyone else, the embarrassment was still there all the same. _Out of all the things I could have said. It had to be something like that._ She thought.

Once the feminine young man calmed his laughter, he smiled. "Its really not that bad, you know. Everyone's had their far share of weird fever dreams, though how many of those dreams are tentacle related is anyone's guess," Haku said, softly. "But, dreams aside, the tea that I brought is downstairs. Once I'm done changing, I'll make you some, 'kay."

"Um ...y-yeah," Hinata coughed and lowered her hands from her face.

"Ino seemed pretty confident about her family's 'tea cure' as she called it," Haku said. "Said you should be good as new in record time."

"Did she say exactly how long," Hinata asked. Even if the tea was bitter, sugar existed for a reason, all she wanted was to get rid of her cold.

"She said that if you drink two cups everyday, your cold should be mostly gone by the weekend. Oh, and she also said that its best to drink the tea with nothing else added. So, sorry, no sugar, Hina-chan."

"N-not even a little?"

"Not even a little."

Hinata's face fell and she sighed; for as long as she could remember the only way she had ever been able to drink tea was with sugar, that went double for her coffee. Haku sometimes joked that she added coffee to her cream and sugar, rather than the other way around. The only time she didn't add sugar to her drinks was: (a) it already had sugar in it, or (b) she was in the mood for regular water.

 _No sugar ...well, that sucks._ The author thought, but she would bare the taste, if it meant getting better. The young woman felt tired and hungry and didn't know what she wanted more, sleep or food.

Hinata didn't have much time to ponder, however. Her stomach gave a low mumble, deciding for her.

"H-Haku, do we have something to eat," she asked, glancing over at her nightstand. "Something I won't have to worry about puking up. I don't think seaweed crackers are going to do much alone."

Giving a thoughtful expression, Haku replied. "I'll make some carrot and onion soup. It should go well with the cracks and tea. Unless you don't want that."

"Soup is fine," Hinata said with a small cough. "You're the one taking care of me. I'd rather not be picky."

"Alright, just get some more rest. Dinner won't be long."

Haku smiled at her, then left the bedroom. Hinata laid back down and snuggled into her sheets, curling up against her pillow. As she closed her eyes, deciding to take a short nap, the boys love author thought to herself. _Haku-kun is such a good friend. Whoever he ends up with probably won't even know how lucky they are._ It was a simple thought, but for some reason, she felt a small ting of bitterness that she couldn't quite explain at the thought of her housemate dating someone.

But, she simply chalked it up to being sick. She couldn't think of any other reason she'd feel that way.

* * *

The next chapter is in the works and will be out soon, remember to review and if you have anyone who would be interested, please share the story.

Until next time,

Peace~!


	5. Episode 5: Boys Love Breaks

And here is the next chapter; these past few weeks have been going by pretty well. I got so much done, and best of all, one of my favorite cartoons from my childhood has returned better than ever. Samurai Jack is back, baby! I can't wait for the next episode, its going to be epic, I just know it. But enough of that, enjoy the new installment!

* * *

Episode 5: Boys Love Breaks

About a week or so passed, and within that time Hinata went from being horribly sick to near perfect health. The boys love author still felt somewhat weak and drowsy sometimes, however, thanks to the medical teas that Haku had brought from Sakurai, she was close to being back at one-hundred percent.

The _Cinnamon Ruby_ tea was just as spicy as it was bland tasting and she honestly hated it at first, but it helped more than Hinata had expected to. Whatever the Yamanaka family's tea recipe was worked wonders; both calming her fever, and at the same time, making her sweat out the sickness while she slept for what felt like days. Her sheets were nearly soaked by the time she felt better, and Hinata wasted no time throwing them in the washing machine and taking a cool shower afterward.

During her time being bed ridden, Haku had continuously checked on her and even persuaded her to drink the tea every time she hesitated to drink the stuff. Her housemate even took a few day off from work to stay home with her; Hinata felt grateful for having him around, and she thanked him consistently, even when Haku told her she didn't need to thank him at all.

"You don't need to thank me every time I help you, Hina-chan," he had said. "Besides, if I got as sick as you, you'd do the same." And that was true, it only happened once, a few years ago, back when she and the feminine artist had first moved into their current residence. Haku, at some point, came down with the flu and had to stay in bed.

Hinata knew the risks of being around him, since there was a high chance she'd catch what he had because her immune system wasn't as strong as it should be. Regardless of that fact, she still took care of him until he got better and ended up getting sick as a result; it was almost as though wearing gloves, a mask and the homemade hazmat suit out of plastic meant nothing, but things had always been like that for the Hyuga author.

The flu for her was much worse than a normal cold could ever be. She had to be taken to the hospital more than once because of it when she was little. However, as Hinata got older, the effects of the flu went from putting her in the hospital to having her in bed in what could be considered a slight coma, having her sleep for hours at a time, and that's exactly what happened to her this time.

She simply slept it off, and while it had mostly been nothing but a black abyss in her mind, her subconscious conjured up some weird dreams that made her question rather her writing came from her creative imagination, or because she had a few loose screws; there was that one dream on her getting an oil message from Haku, who had been a cat-boy for some reason. She quite enjoyed that one.

 _ **~(2)~**_

The sound effects of sword slashes and explosions played out through the television speakers, filling the living room. On the screen a gruesome fight scene came to a stand still. It was one of those battle scenes that captured you and sucked you in, and didn't seem to let go until the fight ended; the big standoff, good verses evil, and the villain was in his final form, so to speak, even if there was no physical transformation.

However, one of the two occupants in the living room room wasn't paying the television screen much attention. Instead, her eyes were fixated on the portable computer in her lap and her glasses reflecting the slightly dimmed screen.

 _Lets see, maybe I could finally get to that hot spring chapter I've been wanting to do for the longest time._ Hinata thought, typing up her idea on the third page of the word document. At the moment, the fujoshi author had no clue how she was going to make a hot spring scene. She believed it would come to her once she got to writing it up. _Of course, I'll have to find a reason for them to even be at the hot spring in the first place. A summer break chapter could work._ She reached her hand over without looking and grabbed some shrimp flavored chips from the large bag resting on the couch between her and her housemate. She ate the chips in one bite, chewing as she thought. _I'll put more details into that idea later._

"You know you're missing the final battle, right," Haku stated from beside her.

Hinata swallowed. "No, I'm not," the author said, glancing up from her computer screen at the television. "I'm watching it."

"Glancing," Haku said. "I think that's the word for what you're doing, since watching involves looking at the screen for more than a few seconds at a time." He picked up the remote and paused the television, then turned his full attention to his introvert housemate. "I thought you were excited for this fight?"

"I am."

"Then, why did you bring you laptop down here? You've barely looked at the TV screen since the showed started."

"I'm just ...I-I'm trying to get these ideas down for the next book," Hinata answered, looking over at him. "While I was sick, I got all these new ideas and I don't want to forget them. The sooner I get them down, the better."

Haku sighed, softly. "Hina-chan, you need to give your mind a rest. The new book just got put on the shelves last week. No one is expecting another book for a while. They probably aren't even halfway through this one," he said. "Not only that, but you just got over being sick and you're not even fully well, yet."

 _I guess ...Haku-kun's got a point, maybe I should take it easy for a little while longer._ The shy author thought, pouting; for the past few months, Hinata had worked day and night to make the deadline. Haku told her time and time again that she needed a 'recharge period', to give her mind a chance to rest after writing practically nonstop, except for sleeping and eating and other things that couldn't be helped. Getting sick added even more of a reason for her to take it easy, at least in the feminine artist's eyes. Just because he was right, though, didn't mean she had to like it. "Fine, I'll take a break from writing. But only for a few days."

"You're acting like I'm asking you to stop writing forever," Haku said, lightly giving her nose a poke. "If I remember correctly, your best ideas come after you took a break. They were even better than the ideas you had when you didn't take a little while to breath and collect your thoughts."

"T-that's true, I wouldn't have come up with that plot twice in the second book if I didn't stop to think on it."

Hinata saved the word document and closed the file, then she shut down the computer; the laptop gave a happy, 'sayonara~!' in a chibi like voice as it had been programed before the screen blinked out and went black; she folded the laptop closed and set it on the coffee table.

With a sigh, the meek woman leaned back and relaxed into the couch, adjusting her glasses slightly, her shoulder lightly touching her friend's.

"So, do you want me to rewind it some. I think you missed some important stuff," Haku said.

Hinata gave a nod. "I didn't catch what Sano said; something about Ichiro's father and the demon sword."

"You want me to go that far back, huh. You know that conversation was, like, fifteen minutes before the fight even starts, right?"

"I know, I'm sorry. I promise to pay attention this time."

"You're lucky I love you enough to go back and re-watch half the episode," Haku said, playfully. He pressed the rewind button on the remote control. "Not many humans get that kind of favor."

"Well, its a good thing I'm a vampire, huh, _Mr. Trap Prince_ ," Hinata teased.

"Are we _really_ bringing back that old high school title," Haku said.

Hinata giggled. "I don't think that title ever left, Haku-kun. You pretty much left your mark being the boy who out rank even some girls in beauty, and I'm just stating what _guys_ have said."

"And the yaoi section of the Anime Club. Though, I'll be honest, they were some of the worse; like when they started pairing me up with Coach Zabuza and that whole rumor started," Haku said, giving her a look. The show reached the point he had been rewinding to. He pressed play, starting only a minute before the parts that Hinata missed. "I'm still wondering who came up with that idea."

Hinata blushed. She had almost completely forgotten about that little shipping rumor gone wrong back in eleventh grade; Coach Zabuza had almost gotten into trouble with the school board, and even Haku got odd looks from the students in other classes and their own classmates.

"I-it wasn't me, if that's what you're thinking," Hinata said. "I'd never spread a rumor like that about you."

"I know that. The only reason I didn't think it was you at the time, was because you take that whole 'no shipping real people' rule seriously," Haku said, chuckling. "Some good did come out of that embarrassing situation. Coach Zabuza started dating my mom; how she went from concerned parent, to being tickled pink is completely beyond me."

"T-tickled pink," Hinata covered her mouth and giggled. "Who even says that anymore?"

Haku shrugged. "Lets just say, some things from drama club never leave you," he said. "Anyway, how about we get back to the show before I have to rewind it again."

Hinata gave a nod. "I hope Ichiro finally beats that traitor. I've been waiting for him to fight Kannosake for two whole seasons."

"We would've gotten this fight sooner, if it weren't for the filler episodes."

"Yeah. But, the filler arc honestly wasn't that bad. They were just a waste of time."

"That is what makes them bad."

Hinata had known for a long time her house-mate's likes and dislikes, and no matter how much time passed, right up there on the top of the Haku's metaphorical dislike list, just below his deadbeat father and bullies, were anime filler arcs.

 _ **~(3)~**_

 _The self proclaimed mightiest of the demon generals felt the blade pass through his belly and out his back, the cold burning of steel forcing him to his knees. The numerous cuts and gashes would not heal as fast as they normally would, for the steel of his enemy's blade was no ordinary steel, but blessed steel, forged to combat demon-kind._

 _Ichiro pulled the blade from his gut, black smoke raising from the wound. "You've lost, Kannosake."_

" _This isn't over, you hear me, wench! I'll come back, and when I do, you'll suffer!"_

" _I highly doubt that. You only get one life, that's the one thing demons and humans share without a doubt, and yours is over."_

 _Rain began to fall, first at a drizzle before suddenly changing into a full downpour, soaking the two wounded warriors to the bone and washing away the blood from their bodies. The horned man scowled, and the girl before him gave an unyielding glare._

" _Goodbye."_

 _With one swing of the sword in her hand, Ichiro decapitated the demon, blood spurting front from Kannosake's neck like a geyser as his head rolled to the ground, the brown mud mixing with crimson red. Ichiro let out a heavy sigh; the battle was finally over and she could go home, knowing that she had avenged her father._

 _She turned and walked away from the scared battlefield, feeling that a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders._

As the last five minutes of the anime continued on the television, Hinata plopped back down on the couch, feeling that her mind had just been blown from, what was undeniably, the two hugest reveals of entire _Hanayokai_ series to date. She didn't even see it coming. The final battle between Kannosuke and Ichiro had her on the edge of her seat, to the point where she was actually standing up when she thought one of her favorite side characters, Ichiro's love interest, was going to die.

"I can't believe it," Hinata said, faintly. "Samuel was a demon the whole time; I thought he was just a human with special powers."

Haku gave a nod. "That explains _so_ much. We should have known that way before this."

"How, there was no way of knowing something like that," Hinata said.

"Remember the forth episode of season two, what the monk said."

Hinata thought back to the episode and her eyes widened slightly. It had been some time since she'd watched season two, but she remembered part of the episode Haku was referring to. "Oh, yeah, the rule: only a demon can kill a demon without a blessed weapon."

"And Samuel used that knife," the feminine artist said. "He never said it was blessed, all he said was that he could use it to kill demons," Haku smiled and lightly clapped his hands as the screen went black after the final scene and the credits began rolling. The opening song of the anime played rather than the usual ending song. "I've said it once and I'll say it again, for an original anime without a manga or light novel to be based off of, the director of _Hanayokai_ has yet to disappoint."

"I think the last two episodes lived up to the hype. If someone is disappointed, I'd be surprised," Hinata said.

"By the way, have you decided what you want to do, yet, Hina-chan," Haku asked, turning his full attention to the fujoshi author. "You were really happy about Jiraiya-san taking an interest in animating _My Life With Genji-san_ , but you haven't brought it up once since the day you got the letter. Are you not going to?"

"Um ...to tell the truth, I-I'm not really sure anymore," Hinata uttered, poking her index fingers together; a habit she had been slowly growing out of in high school, but still did from time to time when she was feeling stressed. "Jiraiya-san's offer is great and I'm happy he picked our book out of all the other ones he could have picked. I want to through with it, but ...I-I'm kinda nervous."

Haku gave an understanding smile. "Somehow, I had a feeling you would be. There's no way you wouldn't. What exactly is it that you're so nervous about?"

"...E-everything," Hinata answered, "what if everyone hates it and people start hating the book, too? Then people aren't going to want to read the book and anyone who does read the book will be too afraid to say they read it and they'll start wearing disguises to buy the book or worse, they'll stop buying it all together and we'll be broke and get kicked out of our house and-."

"Whoa, hold the phone, Hina-chan," Haku said, in a somewhat amused tone, putting his finger to her lips. "Now pass it to me, and listen, alright. Even if the animation doesn't go as well as we expect, I doubt all of that stuff is going to happen because of it; for one, your father owns the rights to this house. We have to pay for it, but I doubt he'd kick us out onto the street," he removed his finger from her lips. "Do you think he'd honestly do that?"

"W-well ...no," Hinata said.

"And secondly, what makes you think that our fans will stop being fans," Haku said. "Sure, a few people might not like the books, but plenty of people can look past a bad animation and appreciate the story in its original form, don't you think?"

 _That has happened before,_ Hinata thought; there was a series that she'd watched during spring called _Two Love Birds_ , an anime comedy drama that came out a few years ago, based off a light novel. To say the anime was horrid, wouldn't have been exactly wrong, and the reviews and reactions it got were pretty bad, too. She didn't even finish the entire series, and the anime had only been twelve episodes.

However, the same light novel the anime had stemmed from was a favorite of Haku's, and while her housemate did agree that the animated adoption had failed horribly, but that didn't change him from being a fan; It took some time for him to convince her to read the volumes in his collection for herself. He eventually did get her to read the books, and she found that she enjoyed them much more than she had watching the animated version.

"Maybe, I am worrying too much about this," Hinata admitted.

Haku chuckled. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"So, d-do you think we should," Hinata asked, meekly. "Animate our book, I mean?"

"To be honest, yes, I think we should," Haku said. "You remember what you told me Anko-san said. That you should go for it, and I think she's right; even if by some chance we do end up failing, at least we can say we tried."

Hinata took his words to heart. She was confident in her writing as any other artist and author who in their craft. A craft that she worked long hard hours to prefect to the style she now had today. The young author could still remember clearly how horrible and awkward her writing used to be; the dialog was the worst and she hated writing it so much.

In junior high, she was a loner before she met Haku. She read a lot, and rarely showed anyone her creative writing notebooks, filled with short stories, world building ideas and plot lines for future projects that always popped into her head whenever she got inspired, which happened all the time; it was one of those notebooks that sparked the conversation that eventually lead to Haku and Hinata both becoming the close friends they were today, and for as long as she had known him, whenever Haku said things would work out, they usually did.

 _So, why not this time?_

"If you think its for the best," Hinata said, giving him a smile. "Then I'll trust your judgment; we'll animate our series and see how it goes."

"That's all we can do, but I'm sure everything will be fine."

The song for the anime they had been watching came to a close, the symbol for the producing company appearing on the television screen for a moment before the commercials came on; Hinata got up from her spot on the couch and stretched her arms over her head and leaned back, giving a small moan, feeling the stiffness pop out of her back.

"So," Hinata began mid-stretch. She put her arms down and turned to her housemate. "What now? Its only ten o' clock; do you want to watch something else?"

Before he could answer, Haku gave a yawn, before shaking his head. "I think I'll pass. That two episode season final enough for one night, and I have to work tomorrow," he stood up. "I think I'm going to turn in early for tonight, Hina-chan."

 _Oh ...right, Haku has to work tomorrow. I nearly forgot._ Hinata thought. "Well, if you have to work, going to bed early is probably for the best," she said, smiling softly at the feminine artist. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask. What did Ami-san and her husband say about the days you didn't show up last week to take care of me?"

"They had no problem with it," Haku said. "I called in and told them before hand that I'd have to take some time off because you were sick. Ami-chan was nice enough to give me a few days off, and one of my coworkers took my place."

"That's good," Hinata said. "I wouldn't want you to lose your job."

"Even if I didn't call in, Ami-chan wouldn't have fired me that fast," Haku said. "I know people say she's kinda harsh when it comes to firing slackers, but she's really not. As long as you have a valid reason, she'll hear you out, at the very least."

That was the first time Hinata had ever heard of that about the small shop owner; the rumor had been floating around Otaku City for almost a year since the shop opened that Ami-san was somewhat harsh on the employees that didn't work hard, liked to slack off and skip days for no reason. Naturally, she had been one of the ones to believe the rumor, though she didn't spread it around like many other people.

"I guess my father was right, you shouldn't believe rumors until you have all the facts."

Haku gave a nod. "Hiashi-san is a smart man; he'd have to be, considering he runs your families business. And practically controls half of the city," as he started up the stairs towards his bedroom, he smiled at Hinata. "I'll see you tomorrow. If not in the morning, then when I get back."

"'Kay, have a nice sleep, Haku-kun."

"And _you_ don't go to sleep too late," Haku replied back, before he disappeared up the stairs.

Hinata didn't plan on staying up late, it just happened, and most of the time she simply wasn't keeping track of time. However, the young author still had a bit of a cold left in her that made her feel somewhat wore out. _I could watch that new drama I didn't get a chance to see yet._ She thought, smiling, as she took a seat back on the couch, picking up the remote control. _I guess that's one upside to taking a break from writing. I can finally catch up on the shows I missed.  
_

 _ **~(4)~**_

Hinata woke up the next day, at around noon.

She opened her eyes and starred at the time. _Eleven fifty-nine._ Somehow, she had beaten the alarm clock to the punch by mere seconds before the annoying device reared its ugly head with its constant, blaring series of beeps. Hinata reached her hand out from under the sheets and slammed her fingers down on the snooze button.

Haku had already gone off to work. Hinata could tell just by looking at the time; letting out a yawn, the Hyuga author stretched in her bed similar to a cat, before she sat up and threw the sheets off her person and slid her feet into her slippers.

"Maybe, I should start waking up earlier," Hinata muttered. She walked over to her window and pulled open the curtains, letting the warm rays from the sun shining on her face, then she lift the window, a strong breeze gently pushing into her bedroom, putting a smile on her face.

Outside of her window, cars drove by in the streets; one of her neighbors walking his dog passing by on the sidewalk across the road noticed her in the window and smiled and waved; like the polite person she had been raised to be, Hinata waved back, as not to be rude. She turned away from the window and walked into her bathroom.

 _Its a beautiful day out. I should write in the backyard, instead wasting the whole day in my room._ The fujoshi author thought, nodding to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror; Hinata turned on the faucet and began her morning routine(though, it was more an afternoon routine).

If she had to be completely honest, being sick and bed ridden for the last week and some days left her itching for the sunlight and fresh air. She just wanted to go outside in general, even if it was only into the backyard. One of her favorite spots was the large cherry blossom tree that grew in the corner of the yard, near Haku's small flower garden. She would sit there for hours reading or typing away at her computer, she had even taken a nap underneath the tree on a blanket she sat on.

Though, falling asleep hadn't been on purpose, but it was nice either way. In the right weather, the yard turned into her own personal safe space, and while the breeze and the sunlight was great, the smell of the flowers made relaxing under the tree even better, because it remind her of the large garden her family owned back at home, in the Hyuga Estate.

 _When was the last time I visited home, or even talked to father or Hinabi? A month?_ Hinata mused, brushing her teeth. _I should give them a call later. Its been too long._

Once she was done brushing her teeth, Hinata put her toothbrush back inside her blue toothbrush holder, and picked up the container of face-soap and messaged the jell substance onto her face after she squeezed it into her hands. She closed her eyes as she rubbed her hands against her cheeks and forehead in circular motions, having learned the hard way that even if the soap didn't get into her eyes, they would still burn if she kept them open.

The last thing she did after washing her face was combing the tangles from her bedhead into a more presentable style. Rather than putting her hair into the usual twin-tails, the introverted author fashioned her hair into a high ponytail with a blue hairband.

Afterward, Hinata went down stairs to have a late breakfast; upon entering the kitchen, she caught sight of a folded piece of notebook paper hanging on the refrigerator door by a strip of clear tape, with her name written on the front. She walked over to the fridge and took the note off the door, opening and reading it.

 _Morning, Hina-chan_

 _Or maybe its more like afternoon, now._

 _Its about time you woke up, hopefully you didn't sleep in for too long,_

 _because its a nice day outside._

 _Anyway, I got a call this morning from Ami-chan,_

 _she needs me to lockup today after work, so I'll be a bit later than usual._

 _On the other hand, its your turn for cooking this week,_

 _which means you're the chef._

 _I know you're probably going to spend most of the day in the house,_

 _but try to get out for a little while, get some fresh air,_

 _even if its just for a walk around the neighborhood._

 _\- Haku._

Hinata put the note to the side on the counter-top and opened the refrigerator; it wasn't quite empty as of yet, but it was getting there. The most food that they had from what she could see was breakfast food; she let out a sigh, reached into the fridge and took out a carton of orange juice and a half full carton of milk and put it on the table.

She walked to the cabinet next to the fridge and grabbed a bowl and spoon, before moving over to the next cabinet and taking out a box of cereal. When everything she planned to eat was on the table, she sat down and began making her breakfast; cereal and orange juice wasn't anywhere near as much of a decent meal as her or Haku's cooking, but she would eat the sugary breakfast flakes. It would fill her up until she went to the market to restock.

 _I should probably go to the market today, we do need things for dinner. But, we do have enough to make something until tomorrow._ The author thought as she chewed on her cereal. She mentally debated with herself if she should go to the market today, rather than write, when a sudden thought came to her. _I should make something for Haku as thanks. He did take care of me for almost a week. Making his favorite meal would be a great surprise. I doubt he'd expect it._

Hinata gave a small smile and drank her orange juice. _And I really should enjoy the nice weather, cause it won't last forever. The news lady did say something about rain on Saturday._ She took a moment to decide, then nodded to herself. "I'll put writing on hold for today, and go to the super market. Who knows, they might be having some good sales. But, first," Hinata shoved down the last of her cereal and drank the down the half cup of juice. "I'll call father and see what's been happening at home."

 _ **~(5)~**_

Hinata picked up the cordless phone from the receiver-changer and dialed her father's cellphone number. She took a seat on the large living room sofa, with her feet kicked up, resting on the coffee table. She listened to the phone ring, and suddenly felt nervous. Not because she was calling home, but because she hadn't been calling her family as much as she should have. She had been so busy with the last chapters of volume three of _My Life with Genji-san_. It completely slipped her mind.

 _Not that that's really much of an excuse._ She thought, sadly.

The phone continued ringing, then the other line was answered. " _This is Hyuga Hiashi, who's speaking?_ "

"Um, i-its me," Hinata replied, meekly. While at the same time sounding clear and respectful. "Good afternoon, father."

" _Ah, finally calling home. I haven't heard from you in some time," Hiashi stated, coolly._ " _And here I was thinking you forgot your family existed."_

"O-of course I haven't f-forgotten, how could I?"

" _I'm joking. There no need to sound so nervous, Hinata._ "

"N-nervous, I'm not nervous at all," Hinata said, giving a small awkward laugh. "I knew you were j-joking. M-me forget about home, that's funny."

It was hard at time to tell when her father was being serious or joking, especially over the phone, her Uncle Hizashi was the same in some ways when it came to his character as well. The cold, calm and calculating voice. The neutral facial expression, and that famous Hyuga scowl that nearly everyone in her family knew how to use, herself included.

Much like a fruit from a tree, no Hyuga was the exact same, though some people in Konoha would tell you otherwise. Some smiled more than others, others were hot headed, and some were shy and liked to keep to themselves. But, if there was one thing every person in the Hyuga Family could do, regardless of their true demeanor, it was that unnerving scowl that demanded respect.

" _Uh-huh,_ " Hiashi said. " _So, my daughter, how have you been since we last talked?_ "

"I've been well, father. I got a little sick recently, but I'm doing fine, now," Hinata answered. "And I recently got a letter from Jiraiya-san, saying he wants to make my book into an animated series; you remember him, right?"

" _It would be quite hard to forget that name,_ " Hiashi said, sounding amused. " _Your uncle is a fan of his works, and so are you, if I remember correctly._ "

"Wait, y-you know about that?"

" _Naturally. Its a father's job to know what literature his children read, even if said literature doesn't belong in the hands of one her age._ "

"Why didn't you take the books from me, then," Hinata asked, confused.

" _Because by the time I found out, you were finished the books,_ " Hiashi stated, plainly. " _I saw no reason to bring it up, and getting angry would've been useless. So, I sat you down and talked to you about the facts of life instead, to make sure you understood what you read, among other things._ "

"I ...uh, had no idea. I didn't grounded or anything."

" _I believe the ...embarrassment you felt after our talk was enough,_ " her father said, chuckling. " _But, that was years ago, and this is now; you have my congratulations, its good to hear that your career is going well, Hinata._ "

"Thank you, father," Hinata said, beaming.

" _And how about your friend ...Haku-san, was it. Has he been doing well, also?_ "

"Yes, he's doing great, actually," Hinata said. "We are thinking about turning the shed out back into an art studio, since we're not using it for much else."

" _And, how has he been treating you?_ "

"As he always has, father."

" _I see. It seems I won't need to send Ko to ...correct him, then._ "

"F-father, that's going a bit far?"

" _I'm just protecting my little girl,_ " Hiashi said, softly. He stopped talking for a moment; Hinata could hear someone's voice talking to her father, though she couldn't make out exactly what was being said. " _Alright, I'll be there in a moment, I'm talking with my daughter. ...Really, when? Fine, you may leave, Ko,_ " she heard him sigh. " _...Hinata, I'm sorry to cut our talk short, but I have some urgent 'business' to attend to. I'm sure you understand._ "

"Of course I do, father," Hinata said. "I'll call again, at a better time."

" _You should call your sister when you have the time,_ " the Hyuga head advised her. " _I'm sure she will be happy to hear about your success._ "

"I will. I'll talk to you soon, father."

" _Until then, my daughter._ "

The phone call ended. Hinata leaned back into the sofa and smiled. It felt nice, talking to her father again; the young author always worried about him, mostly because of his _jobs_ which were managing real estate for the family company, Eagle-Site, and leading the Hyuga Family yakuza. She knew her father had done some ...bad things, and he never really explained in detail what he did asides from: "Taking care of the family's needs," as he had put it.

Hinata put the wireless phone back on the receiver to change, before she walked up stairs to get dressed.

If she was going to go outside to enjoy the day, she was going to get some shopping done while doing it. Besides, the refrigerator wasn't going to restock itself, no matter how much she wished it could.

* * *

Remember to leave a review! The next chapter will be out soon.

Peace~!


	6. Episode 6: Boys Love Greeting Senpai

Episode 6: Boys Love Greeting Senpai

The train pulled off towards the next station just as Hinata found her seat; she felt lucky she didn't have to stand up, seeing as the train seemed to be getting more and more crowded with each stop the train came to; people on their way to work and students going to school. The weekdays mornings were always like this. At least that was what she heard from Haku and her friends in high school.

She personally never experienced it herself during her high school years. As a matter of fact, she never even took the bus or train anywhere until she moved out on her own and started living with Haku. After all, her family was very wealthy, and the only reason Hinata didn't stay at home, continuing to be tutored in junior high and high school as she had for elementary school, was because she begged her father to go to Konoha High.

Of course, just because she was used to taking public transportation, didn't mean it made her feel any better when she did.

 _Alright, just breathe. Its only a train ride ...a very crowded train ride._ Hinata thought, nervously. She was sitting near the window, with her bag in the seat next to her, preventing anyone from taking the seat. _Kurenai is going to be waiting for me at the studio building. Stop being nervous._ Not that, telling herself that actually worked.

Hinata hated being in crowded places alone, among strangers, even when she was with other people. It made her feel uneasy, like someone was out to get her; the meek author had been that way since the incident happened when she was six-years-old.

Anytime she needed to go somewhere by bus, Haku was the one who went with her, knowing that she had an issue with being around tons of people, especially people she didn't know. But, he couldn't go with her this morning; the feminine young man got a call from the owner of his job, asking if he could show up earlier and help setup shop, and Haku had no reason to say no. Though, Hinata really wished that he had declined.

Sure, Hinata could have called and rescheduled the meeting for another time when Haku would be able to tag along with her. However, Kurenai planned on meeting the young woman at Toad Animations, so she only had to take one bus and the train and everything would be fine afterward; the bus ride hadn't been too bad most of the ride, until an older man sat next to her.

 _Three more stops and I'm there. Everything's fine. I should_ _do something to take my mind off the crowd._ Hinata reached over, opening her bag, and pulled out a manga she had yet to finish reading, despite having brought it over half a year ago, called: _The Life and Times Of Hiro_.

She quite enjoyed the series; the manga followed the main character, Hisawa Hiro, as he grows up and goes through junior high and high school, trying to find his place in a world on the brink of war. In a way, the manga reminded her of her own teenage life, and with the range of secondary and side characters, pretty much every person had someone they could relate to in one way or another.

She was about to open up to the page she left off, when a voice caught her attention. "Excuse me, ma'am," Hinata turned and saw a young, petite girl standing near the seat her bag took up. "I was wondering if it was okay for me to sit here. All the other seats are taken."

"Um ...s-sure," Hinata uttered, moving the bag from the seat into her lap.

The young girl smiled and sat down with a sigh of relief; her eyes were onyx black and her orange hair was styled in pigtails with two red, elastic bands. She had a natural blush on her cheeks; Hinata also took notice of the Konoha High uniform that she wore, a green skirt and a white dress shirt and over the shirt a green blazer, and on her left leg was a leg brace over her black stockings.

"Thank you," the young girl said.

"Its fine," Hinata said with a small smile. "You needed the seat more than my bag did, from the looks of things."

The young girl sighed again. "I would've stood up to not bother you. But, my leg starts to hurt if I stand still for too long," the teen glances down at the book in the older woman's possession. "Oh, you read that series, too?" Hinata glanced at the book in her hands, then gave a nod. "Cool, I love that manga. How far have you gotten?"

"To page ...f-forty-five, I think. I only have the first volume," Hinata said, meekly. "I wanted to finish it. B-but, I sorta stopped reading it for a while because of work and stuff."

"Yeah, I know what that's like," the girl said. "As someone who's read the entire series twice so far, I can honestly say that you should buy the other books once your finished with that one. Totally worth every yen."

"Really. I'll keep that in mind," Hinata said. "I haven't read anything new since I got this; are there any other mangas you recommend checking out?"

"Not off the top of my head. To be honest, I don't read manga much anymore. I mostly read normal books, like novels," the teenager answered. "What about you?"

"Oh ...I-I read books all the time."

"Well, in that case, I think I know of a series you might like. Its pretty popular and under the radar, but," the young girl giggled secretively. "Its sort of an ... _acquired_ taste in literature."

"I have lots of books in my collection, so I doubt its much different from anything I've read before," Hinata said. "What is the series called?"

"Its a light novel series. One of my favorites; _My Life With Genji-san_." The young girl answered. "The latest book actually came out in stores not too long ago."

"Really." _Oh, boy. That's unexpected._ The introverted author mused. She couldn't help giggling, sheepishly. "Y-you don't say."

The orange haired girl raised an eyebrow. "Have you heard of it, already?"

"Actually ...I, uh," Hinata slightly blushed, giving the girl a small smile, and leaned closer to her. "I kinda of wrote it."

"Wait," the girl blinked. "What did you say?"

" _My Life With Genji-san_ , I ...wrote it."

"Seriously? Like, for real, no joke?" a wide smile spread on the teenagers face. "You're name's really Hyuga Hinata-senpai?"

Hinata nodded. "Last I checked, I'm pretty sure it is."

"This isn't some prank?"

"N-no, I'm completely serious."

"Oh ...oh, wow, this is just," the young girl gave a silent squeal. "I _love_ , love your books. Like all three of them. I-I mean, I haven't finished the third one just yet, but I'm sure I'm gonna love it, too; you are really pretty by the way, I imaged you different in my head. Not to say that I thought you'd be ugly or anything, but, you look so different and," Hinata giggled. "And, I'll stop talking, now."

"Its alright. I-I'm happy you enjoy my writing," Hinata said, happily. She couldn't help smiling so much whenever she was praised for her hard work by her readers, people that were complete strangers, yet many of them were always so nice.

The young girl took a breath, calming herself. "S-sorry, I've always wanted to meet you. I-I just never thought I _actually_ meet you in person, you know," she said, smiling. "I ...um, sent you a letter a little while ago, senpai."

"Really. What's your name?"

"M-Moegi."

 _Moegi. Moegi. I don't remember getting anything last week?_ Hinata thought on it for a few moments. Not really sure if she had gotten a letter last week, until she remembered the fan mail she and Haku got on the same day as the letter from Toad Animations, the week before last, and the one a month before that. "Oh, I remember now. You sent me three fan letters, right?"

Moegi nodded, blushing. "Yes. I hope they weren't too ...you know, weird and fan girly."

Hinata giggled. "There was nothing weird about them at all," she said, softly. "If anything, I'm flattered; they inspired me to do better." _And, kinda made me scared that I'd do something wrong to disappoint my readers._ She added, mentally.

"Thank you, senpai, that's really nice of you to say," Moegi said, happily. She opened her bag and searched through it as she continued. "Since you're here, senpai, I was sorta wondering if you could sigh my book."

"O-of course, I don't mind at all," Hinata said. "We're gonna have to hurry, though. My stop is about to come up."

A moment later, the intercom of the train came on, and the automated voice spoke. _"Next stop, Station Square."_

"Cool ...now, if I can just find it," Moegi continued looking through her bag. Sighing a moment later, she closed the bag, pouting. "I think ...I forgot my book at home. I really wanted to get it signed, too."

"Oh ...I'm sorry to hear that," Hinata said. Then a thought came to her mind. "How about this, I'll give you my number and we can set a date when we can meet and I'll sign your book then."

Moegi looked surprised. "Seriously, you'd do that."

"I don't see why not, I'm not doing much at the moment, and my schedule is mostly free for the next couple weeks," Hinata said.

"Yes!" She said loudly, drawing attention to herself from a couple nearby passengers. She blushed. " ...I-I mean, yeah, that's cool with me, senpai." Hinata smiled and took out a flashcard, tore it in half, and wrote her phone number down; she handed it to the girl, who took the torn card with slightly shaky hands, like it was some sort of blessed object.

The train pulled into Station Square, and Hinata stood up, fixing her bag over her shoulder. "It was nice to meet you, Moegi-san. Just call at anytime. As long as its not too late."

"You can count on it, senpai," Moegi said with a large smile. "And thank you for this. I really mean it."

Hinata smiled back at the girl; the train doors opened and the shy author followed the wave of people out onto the platform. She turned around, and saw the girl waving to her through the window; she waved back and started up the stairs to the ground floor, just as the train departed for the next station.

She didn't notice until that moment, but for the first time in a while, she had been calm and not so nervous in a crowd of people, even though Haku wasn't there with her. Hinata was even able to talk with a stranger without feeling nervous.

 _Maybe, I've grown more than I thought._ The fujoshi mused with a small smile.

 _ **~(2)~**_

The large building of the animation studio could be seen from streets away, even among the other taller buildings. A tourist might not have noticed the building at first, but Hinata was able to point it out because of the studio's logo on the huge sign hanging onto the corner of the building, just above the first floor.

Hinata walked through the crowd of her fellow pedestrians, feeling nervous and excited at the same time; in less than an hour she'd be meeting the man who was not only one of the reasons she had aspired to become a writing, but she would be making a deal to get her book turned into an animated series.

It was truly an almost indescribable feeling; of course, the packed crowd of people didn't help much with her nervousness, either. She just breathed and walked, trying not to stand out and draw attention to herself.

 _Haku said it before. Just because it feels like everyone has their eyes on you, doesn't mean that they do._ The introverted author thought. She slipped through the crowd with her head down, using her martial arts footwork to gracefully shift out of peoples way and avoid bumping into anyone.

When she had been younger, she used to hate training to a degree; her Father never let up when it came to teaching her the Hyuga family's secret art, the _Juken,_ or the Gentle Fist. Though hard, the training did wonders for her ability to be aware of her surroundings at all time, using all her senses, even when she wasn't trying to. She was in no way a master; Hinabi had always been better at martial arts than she had, and Hinata had no doubt that her little sister not only got better since she moved out of her own, but would probably master the style before reaching the age of thirty, when their father became a fully realized master.

Of course, that was up to the elders to decide.

After walking almost five blocks, she found herself in front of the open gates of the animation building, and sitting on a bench in the small square, near the large stone statue of a dancing Geisha, was her publisher, waiting where she said she would.

Hinata took a breath, adjusted the weight of her bag, and walked through the gates. "Kurenai-san."

The older woman looked up at her. "Hinata-chan, good morning."

"Good morning," Hinata greeted back, smiling. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"I've been waiting here for an hour," Kurenai said in a serious tone.

"I-I'm sorry. I would've gotten here s-sooner if I knew you'd been waiting that long," Hinata said, apologetically.

Kurenai didn't say anything for a few seconds, before a smile formed on her lips. She laughed. "Lighten up. I'm joking, Hinata. I've only just got here fifteen minutes ago," the publisher grabbed her purse from next to her and stood up. "How was your trip over here? No, problems with your anxiety, I hope."

"It actually wasn't that bad, surprisingly," Hinata answered, happily. "I managed to make it here without having to collect myself in a bathroom for once. I even met one of my fans on the train."

"I'm happy to hear that your making progress," Kurenai said. She motioned for the young author to follow her, and made her way towards the studio building's front entrance. "You ready?"

"I-I'm, a little nervous," Hinata admitted, meekly. "I'm really glad you agreed to come with me, Kurenai-san. I know you have a busy schedule during the weekday."

"Its no problem at all. I'm always here to help."

The two made their way through the automatic slid doors; Toad Animations had ten floors, eleven if you counted the basement. The first floor was a huge lobby, with many comfortable looking couches and chairs of many different colors, most of them being black, red and brown. Four security guards monitored the area, one standing behind the front desk. Kurenai and Hinata went up to the desk, getting the female guard's attention.

"How can I help you two, today," the guard asked in a polite tone.

"We're here for an appointment with Chief Director Jiraiya," Kurenai answered.

The guard nodded. "Can I get your names, please?"

"Sarutobi Kurenai and Hyuga Hinata."

"Alright. Lets see here," the woman typed away on her computer for a moment. "Yes, I see you right here." He reached under the desk and pulled out two visiting cards, wrote down their names, and handed them to the two. "Please keep these on you at all times during you stay. Take the elevator to the ninth floor, there is a small waiting room you can relax in until the director is ready to see you."

"Thank you, have a nice day."

"You two as well, Ma'am."

Kurenai took the cards and gave one to Hinata; they walked over and used the elevator and went up to the ninth floor as instructed. Another security guard was sitting behind a small desk when they got off; the two showed him their visitors cards and told him what they were there for.

The guard gave them a nod and let them through. "I'll let Jiraiya-san know that you're both here," he told them.

They took a seat in the small waiting room, just outside of the Chief Director's office.

"We shouldn't be waiting for too long," Kurenai said, looking at the time on her phone. "I say we'll be in his office, five, maybe ten minutes."

"S-so, um, what's Jiraiya-san like," Hinata asked meekly.

Kurenai chuckled. "Still nervous, huh," the young author gave a nod. "There is really no need to be. I've known Jiraiya-san for years, and I can honestly say I'll never seem him make someone nervous once he starts talking to them. He's a really down-to-Earth type of guy, and easy to talk to."

 _I hope so. I hate feeling so nervous all the time._ Hinata thought. The clock on the wall ticked on, and just as the older woman told her, a young man came out of the door to Jiraiya's office.

"The Chief Director will see you, now."

The two followed him into the back, walking down a small hallway to another door. The man opened it and held it for them; they moved into the room and the door was closed behind them, leaving them in an office with a large window view.

The Chief Director's office was big, about half the size of the lobby area on the first floor; there were shelves of books on one side of the room against the wall, a china cabinet, and next to that a polished redwood dresser, with different kinds of alcoholic drinks set on it in a row. A large brown carpet covered the floor, and in front of them, sitting at a large desk with two chairs in front of it, was her idol in the flesh.

 _Oh ...wow, its really him._ Hinata thought, starring at the man. She had seen pictures of him, and though they weren't exactly recent, he didn't look much different from when they were taken years ago. He was middle aged, probably close to his mid fifties, with black eyes and long, spiky white tied back in a ponytail, and two long bangs framing his face.

 _Just be cool, and act natural. This is Jiraiya-san, here, you don't want to embarrass yourself._

"Ah, Kurenai, its good to see you again," the man at the desk spoke, getting up from his seat. He was tall, at least a head taller than her housemate. Hinata followed the older woman further into the room; the man walked around his desk and pulled Kurenai into a hug. "Its been too long."

Kurenai smiled, returning the hug. "Yes, three weeks is a long time indeed," she said, jokingly.

Jiraiya pulled away, grinning. "Hey, now, time is a precious thing. Three weeks can turn into three months before you know it," he said. "How is Mirai doing?"

"She's fine. School has her occupied right now. She's always talking about her new friends," Kurenai said. "You should come visit sometime, she misses you."

"Does she miss me, or the toys I bring," Jiraiya joked. "Sometimes its hard to tell with that kid of yours."

Kurenai laughed. "She adores you. The toys are just a bonus for her."

"In that case, I'll stop by when I can. Maybe this weekend, but don't tell her, I want it to be a surprise," Jiraiya said. He then turned to the shy author next to Kurenai. "And you much be Hyuga Hinata. Its a pleasure to finally have a face to go with the talent."

The shy author didn't speak for a few seconds, before her mind registered that he was speaking to her. "I-its a pleasure to m-meet you, as well, Jiraiya-san," she said, it took all she had in her to keep eye contact. "I-I'm a really big fan of your work."

"I've heard. Kurenai said you've read all my books when you were little," Jiraiya said, chuckling. "I guess great minds really do think alike. I was still in grade school when I read my first erotic novel; completely changed my life," he motioned towards his desk. "Lets sit down. We have much to talk about." The white haired man went back to his seat, and Hinata and Kurenai sat down in the comfy chairs in front of his desk. Jiraiya opened a drawer and pulled out a file holder, then the meeting began.

* * *

And that's it for now, remember to review.

Peace~!


	7. Episode 7: Boys Love Games

Yeeeah~ I haven't updated in a while, I know. I'd like to say I had the flu, but while I was sick for a bit, I'm not really sure that's what I had at all. Then I got stuck in a rut because I hadn't written for about a few weeks straight; long story short, after some zen meditation and checking myself on my procrastination habits and reading, I'm finally back with writing confidence much higher than before. But, enough about me and what I've been up to, enjoy the new chapter~!

* * *

Episode 7: Boys Love Games

Haku had arrived at Ami-chan's early in the morning at around quarter to nine; the downtown area around Otaku City had only just begun to fill up with people beginning their day, either heading to work or students heading to school, when he had opened up shop. It was close to noon now, and the black haired young man was dressed in his butler style uniform with his hair done in a long braid resting over his shoulder, rather than the usual ponytail; he was in the process of serving hot drinks and lunch to a couple of women at a middle table near the front counter.

They were regulars; the younger worked at a family run fabric store that Haku had visited a few times, and still had on her blue employee shirt with light brown pants. The other was an older woman, who owned the store. She was probably in her late fifties and was the younger girl's grandmother. The two came by a few times a weeks since the cafe first opened. That being the case, Haku knew from memory what the two would likely order without being told.

Of course, Haku couldn't read minds. He politely took their orders even if he could guess what they would go for.

"And here's your usual, one caramel cream latte and a raisin danish for you, and black berry bubble tea and strawberry mochi for you, ma'am," he placed each dish and drink in front of each of them, then took a step back, holding the serving tray against his body. "Will that be all for now, ladies?"

The older woman nodded. "Yes, thank you very much, young man."

"Your welcome, ma'am. If you need anything else, please let one of us know; now, if you'll excuse me." Haku gave a slight bow, smiling. Then he walked off towards the front counter. As he did, he could hear the comments directed at him as the two women talked.

"He seems like a nice young man, dear. Maybe you should ask him out on a date."

"What? No way, grandma. Besides, I'm still in high school."

"Exactly, there's no better time to put yourself out there and start looking. I know I did at your age."

Haku chuckled a bit and shook his head as he placed the tray on the serving rack to be reused. He was used to people commenting on him when his back was turned, some comments being more questionable than others. Not that he was complaining, if anything, he found it somewhat amusing.

"Someone's in a good mood today," his boss said. The woman was behind the cash register, having just gotten done taking an order. "Any particular reason why?"

"Hinata is at a meeting to discuss getting our novel animated. The thing I told you about the other day, remember," Haku said, leaning against the counter.

"Oh, that was today," Ami-san smiled at him. "Well, good for you two. I hope everything turns out fine."

"Me too. Everything still feels kinda surreal, even now its hard to believe something like this is really happening to us."

"You both put a lot of hard work and effort into your work," Ami-san said. "If you ask me, it was only a matter of time before someone took notice."

"Maybe somewhere further down the line," Haku said. "To be honest, I think me and Hina-chan just got lucky."

Ami gave him a look. "Come on, you know I don't believe in luck. Everything you do in life is because of calculation and circumstance; there a lot more evidence for that than there is about luck. But, that's just my thoughts on the matter." Just then another customer came up to the register; she took her attention off the feminine young man and smiled widely. "Welcome to Ami-chan's~ how may I help you today?"

"Can I get two slices of chocolate cheese cake, and one strawberry pie," the brown haired man said.

Ami nodded, tapping the order into the computer over the cash register. "Of course, is it to go or for here?"

"To go, please."

"Alright, just give us a few minutes."

As he leaned up and straightened the slight wrinkles out of his vet and tailcoat, Haku heard the usual sound of small bells jingling as the cafe door opened. He didn't think much of it until he heard a familiar young man's call out to him. "Hey, Haku," upon hearing his name, the light novel artist turned his head, a smile coming to his face as the young man made his way over to him with one hand in his black pants pocket, waving lazily with the other. "So it was you I saw through the window."

"Shikamaru, hey," Haku said, somewhat surprised. "I thought you were still in Tokyo studying."

"Nah, I'm finally getting a break from all that stuff for the next few weeks, so I decided to come back home and relax for a bit instead of putting up with my roommates. Besides, the Will of Fire festival is coming up soon, I'd hate to miss it," Shikamaru said. The guy hadn't changed one bit in Haku's eyes, at least not appearance wise. He still had the same spiky ponytail and tastes in clothing; asides from being a few inches taller and the small chin stubble, nothing was different. "But, man, its been a while, huh?"

"About a little over a year, yeah," Haku agreed. The bell on the front counter rang, letting Haku know that another order needed to be taken out to another table. The feminine young man glanced over as Ami-san put the tray of food on the counter top, then he turned back to Shikamaru. "Sorry, I can't really talk right now, duty calls."

Shikamaru waved it off, smiling. "No problem, can't exactly have you losing your job on my account. If you've got work to do, we'll just catch up some other time," the lazy genius said. He turned around and headed for the cafe entrance. "I'll be seeing you around, Haku."

Haku gave a nod. "Yeah, see you."

Then he was out the front door, disappearing into the crowded city streets. Haku went over and picked up the serving tray. As he turned to take the order to the table, Ami-san reached over and tapped him softly on the shoulder, causing him to stop mid-stride, glancing over his shoulder. "You know, if you want to catch up with your friend, you could always take your lunch break after your done serving table three."

"Is that really alright," Haku asked. He wasn't scheduled to go on lunch for another hour. "I mean, I can wait."

Giving a shrug, his boss answered. "Its fine, I mean, we're having a slow day anyway and things probably won't pick up until school lets out. Just be back in forty-five minutes, okay."

"Sure, thanks, Ami-san." The feminine young man gave the woman a smile and headed for the table he was supposed to serve. Once the food was given out, and checking to see if anything else was needed from from the costumers, Haku returned the serving tray and headed through the door leading to the employee area; he clocked out for his lunch break, not bothering to change out of his butler uniform, grabbed his cellphone and lift the cafe to find Shikamaru.

 _ **~(2)~**_

As he made his way through the crowded streets of the Otaku City area, Haku took a moment to set a timer on his phone to go off five minutes before his lunch break was over. His mother always told him more than once, "its better to be a few minutes earlier, than to be a few minutes late." Among other thing; each piece of advice his mother told him, Haku took to heart and tried to apply it to his life as best he could.

 _And mother's words haven't failed me, yet._ He thought. _Plus, if me and Shika-kun really get talking, the last thing I want to do is lose track of time._ The crowd of people he walked with stopped at the red light at the next street corner. "If I was Shikamaru, were would I head to first," Haku muttered to himself. After taking some time to think and try to remember all of his lazy friend's favorite spots in the area, only one place came to mind aside from the Hidden Blade Arcade and the book store, and that was the Games Room below the Sun Seed Garden.

The Sun Seed Garden was a rooftop insect enclosure run by the Aburame family, one of the smaller and rarely mentioned families that had been around since Konoha was a hidden village. One of Haku's oldest friends, a quiet boy named Shino from his elementary school, was apart of the Aburame. They grew all kinds of flowers and other plant life, all the while letting the different bugs of the enclosure roam free, while the beautiful but poison ones were kept in cages; some of the insects were ones that could only be found the forests surrounding Konoha or in the Forest of Death, like the poisonous shadow beetle.

Back in the era of the hidden villages, the poison from such bugs were used by the Aburame to slowly and quietly assassinate lords and government figures.

There were only a few rules when visiting the garden, such as there was no smoking allowed and no one was suppose to pick the flowers, but the rule that came before those two had to be followed strictly: no one was allowed to kill the insects within the enclosure, not even spiders.

Regardless of this rule, however, many people still visited the garden. Though, more than a few visitors got kicked out for not following the rules.

The light changed to green and Haku crossed the street, then took a right in the direction of the garden, while taking in the sites. None of the scenery was new to him in the slightest, he simply enjoyed seeing how many new people he could spot among the locals in the crowd. For the most part, Haku had no trouble figuring out who were foreigners; most spoke little to no Japanese, and even if their Japanese was good, their appearance gave them away.

The one thing he found that gave foreigners away most of all, even if they were Japanese from another part of the country, was that spark of wonder and excitement that only people visiting from other countries and provinces seemed to have.

That being the case, Haku could see quite a number of foreigners were in the Otaku City area, and it came as no surprise to him when he was approached by two of them, something that happened from time to time. _They're probably lost._ Haku thought. The man had on denim shorts and a red, button-up shirt with short, spiky orange hair and brown eyes and the woman with long blue hair and gray eyes, who was holding the hand of a little boy with red hair.

"Um, excuse me," the man began in somewhat alright Japanese. "Do you speak English?"

Haku looked at the three of them, then gave a nod, replying in accented English. While he had never been very good at writing in English, speaking the language he could do well enough, though Hinata was better at it because of her family background. "Yes, I do."

"Oh, good," the man said in English. "My Japanese isn't that good yet, so I'd rather speak in English for now."

Haku smiled. "I understand that."

"Yahiko, can we go to the Hokage Tower next?" The little boy asked.

The orange haired man looked over at the boy. "In a little bit, Nagato," the man said, before turning back to Haku. "Anyway, I was wondering if you knew where we could find the Shinobi Grave Stone, I think we're kinda lost."

"We _are_ lost," the slim woman at his side said. "My boyfriend here is pretty bad with directions; he's been dragging us all over the city for the past hour and refuses to admit he actually has no idea where he's going."

"There's no need to be upset, Konan."

"I have plenty of reason to be upset when you waste our time, plus Nagato hasn't eaten lunch yet."

Haku chuckled at the expression on the man's face. "Well, the Shinobi Grave Stone is close by," the young man turned and pointed down the block. "If you go three blocks down and take a right, then get on the bus going towards city hall and get off near the Hokage Tower. The Shinobi Grave Stone is in the large park across the street from there," he looked back at the family of three. "If you get lost again, or can't find your way, the best thing I can tell you is to get a map or look for a tour guide to show you around; I recommend doing both just in case."

The man smiled, giving a nod. "Thanks a lot, man. And sorry if we held you up."

"No need to apologize," Haku said. "If there's nothing else, I must be on my way; enjoy the rest of your day."

"You, too, and thanks again for the help."

He gave the three one last smile and started walking towards his destination at a slightly faster pace. The eastern part of Otaku City had three tall buildings that were much taller than the ones surrounding them; the wider building was the convention center were a number of concerts and events were held, the building across the street from that one was a popular hotel with an online gaming cafe, and the last building a few floors higher than the previous one with a large green beetle sign over the front entrance was the Aburame owned Green~Beetle hotel, with the Sun Seed Garden somewhat visible on the top floor from just across the street.

Haku made his way through the automatic sliding doors into the building lobby. An older man in a black security uniform sat behind the front desk, reading a newspaper called the Konoha Chronicle, while sipping his coffee in one hand.

"Excuse me, sir," Haku said, as he approached the security guard. The older man lowered his newspaper. "Did you see a guy come in here, five, maybe ten minutes ago; brown shirt, black pants, spiky ponytail?"

"Brown shirt and black pants?" The guard stroked his mustache with a thoughtful expression, then his face lit up a moment later. "Oh, you mean pineapple hair guy, right?"

 _Pineapple ...guy?_ Now that Haku thought about it, his lazy friend's ponytail did look really similar to a pineapple, and he somehow never took notice of this. He chuckled, and gave a nod. "Yeah, that's the one."

"Well, if you're looking for him, he took the elevator up to the eighth floor. He's probably went to the Games Room," the man answered. Haku thanked him and headed for the elevator. He pressed the up button for the lift and waited as the digital numbers above the elevator door counted down from the floor it had been on.

 _ **~(2)~**_

With a ding, the elevator door slid open and Haku stepped out into the wide corridor of the eighth floor. Just in front of him was a golden bronze colored sign on the dark blue hallway wall; the sign had a double sided arrow pointing off to the right and to the left. Underneath the left side of the arrow was the word: ' **Restroom** ', printed in bold black letters, and printed under the right side was: ' **Food Lounge** **/Games Room** ' to the right.

Having been here plenty of times before, though not too often as he would've liked since graduating high school, Haku headed right and walked until he got to the T-shaped corner at the end of the corridor, then he made another right without bothering to read the next direction sign. At the end of the hallway, Haku came to a set of heavy, brown wood double doors.

He turned one of the nobs, gently pushed the door open and walked in. The first thing to greet him was the strong smell of food and sweets, as well as the all too familiar sound of people talking and laughing. The Games Room wasn't like an arcade in any way; where the arcade was filled with loud noises, from both the numerous electronics and people, the Games Room was meant to be a somewhat quiet and reserved place for those who played card games and board games; in other words, games that required a lot of strategy, thought and contemplation. Even when completely packed with people, which it wasn't at the moment because it was the weekday, loud noises and talking were always kept to a minimum.

"I reverse your nin-card with my trap-summon! That means all ten of your high level shinobi can't move for three turns! Suck it!"

"What ...goddammit, again!"

At least, most of the time.

Walking around the gaming area, he looked for his (as the guard put it) pineapple haired friend among the tables of other gamers. Knowing what he knew about Shikamaru, Haku made his way towards the part of the room known for having laid back but competitive chess and shogi matches; the Games Room was about as big as a large library room, minus the book shelves, with many different sized tables spread across the brown wood floor to a row of large windows that gave a nice view of the city spread out in the distance, leading all the way to the surrounding forests; to his right was where the smell of food and baked goods rose from the food lounge area for those who didn't feel like leaving to get a bite to eat.

The young artist walked, searching around the room, until he stopped near to the a crowd of younger kids playing _Monopoly_ , having caught sight of Shikamaru's spiky ponytail and the back of his jacket to his left not far from the windows. He made his way over to him, hand raised to announce himself, when another familiar young man around his age with bushy eyebrows and bowl-cut hair sitting across the table from Shikamaru looked up and spotted him with a wide, white teethed smile.

"Ah~ Haku-kun! I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Hey, Lee," Haku greeted, returning the smile. While he hadn't seen the athletic, green dressed youth in quite some time asides from resent television, he hadn't seen Shikamaru for much longer. Rock Lee, or to most of his close friends and family, Lee, had been a close friend of Haku and Hinata's since their junior year of high school.

Back then, Lee was a grade over the two and spent most of his time at his uncle's gym or around Hinata's cousin. Lee and Neji weren't did exactly have what most would call a normal friendship; at most, Neji simply tolerated the highly energized workout fanatic. But, simply because he tolerated him, in no way meant that the calm and collected Hyuga didn't consider Lee a good friend. Rather, it was _because_ Lee was a dear friend of his that Neji even tolerated him to begin with.

They were also, in Lee's words, "hot blooded rivals!" Haku knew for a fact that Neji could honestly care less about some rivalry with a workout nut like Lee. He challenged the older Hyuuga every chance he got, even to this day; who ate the most, who could swim the fastest, who could lift the most weight, and the list of outrageous challenges went on and on.

Lee was a bit calmer than he was back then, however that in no way meant he was any less likely to challenge Hinata's cousin, he simply widened the range of those he issued challenges to; Haku had been called out for races and sparring with Lee on more than a few occasions.

"I thought you were working." Shikamaru said, turning halfway around in his chair.

"I was, but we have these things called lunch breaks," Haku said. He gestured towards one of the empty seats at their table. "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not, take a seat," Lee said, smiling. Haku gave a nod and sat down. "Looks like the dynamic trio is back together again. Its been a long time since we last came here."

"Yep, and Haku's just as snarky as ever," Shikamaru added. He picked up his rook on the chess board and moved it close to Lee's king. Haku could see their game was over before he even sat down. "Checkmate."

Lee was about to retort, until he realized he was completely boxed in on all sides. "Oh, wow, that is checkmate."

The lazy genius wiped the pieces off the board, then looked at Haku. "You wanna play? I could use the challenge."

Haku smiled. "I'd rather not. I have to get back to work soon and playing chess will probably make me late," Shikamaru simply shrugged, and the butler dressed waiter continued. "So, what been going on with you two?"

Lee was the first to answer. "Same thing as always, training and working and more training," the athletic young man said with high energy. "Since I only came in third in the _Ninja Warrior_ finals, I'll have to train even harder to reach the top next time~!"

"Hina-chan and I watched it live, you did great," Haku said.

"It may have been great to some, but I don't feel it was my _best_ ," Lee said. "I could've done much better if I'd just trained harder, and that's what I intend to do for next year, starting tomorrow with my new training plan with the help of Gai-sensei. If you have time, you should come by to workout with us sometime~."

"Um ...no thanks. But, good luck with the training," Haku said, a somewhat nervous smile on his face. _No way I'm taking one of those hellish classes again._ Lee's uncle, Might Gai, ran a gym not far from Konoha High School called: The Mighty Man Gym. Haku had gone to the gym to train twice in the past year before he decided it was best to just do his own thing. He like the gym, but the training classes were brutal, near super human. Haku's arms and legs ached from almost a week straight after just going to one class. He honestly had no idea how Lee survived such training when he was younger.

"Lee, your uncles training would kill someone," Shikamaru said. "Even Neji would quit halfway through and he's been doing martial arts since he was in diapers."

"Really," Lee raised an eyebrow. "Our training isn't that bad, is it?"

"It is that bad," Shikamaru and Haku said at the same time.

The energetic young man put on a thoughtful expression, crossing his arms. "That would explain why hardly anyone takes the advance classes," Lee muttered. "Maybe Hinata-chan was right about Gai-sensei having to go easier on the beginners."

"You think," Shikamaru said, making a face at the workout fanatic, before he turned to Haku. "Speaking of Hinata, how is she doing? Last I heard that book series you two made got some pretty good reviews."

"I'll have to take your word on it about the reviews, me and Hinata tend not to read those; the sells have been better than good, though," Haku said, before chuckling. "Toad Animations actually wants to turn our book into an animated series, believe it or not; Hinata's in the meeting as we speak. To be honest, I kinda nervous."

Lee smiled widely and patted the feminine waiter on the back. "Nervous for what, this is great news~! Congratulations on your success!"

"Thanks," Haku said. He took his cellphone out of his vest pocket and glanced down at the time. "I've still got some time left for lunch, how about we get something to eat from the ramen stand near the arcade? I heard they brought some new items to the menu not too long ago." He tucked the cellphone away. "Besides, you still need to tell me about college life, Shika-kun."

"You really want to hear about that train wreak?"

Lee laughed. "Come on, college can't be that bad."

"Yeah, I'd think the work would be easy for you," Haku added.

Shikamaru let out a sigh. "The assignments aren't the problem, its the people," the lazy genius slid back his seat and stood. "Lets get something to eat first, then I'll tell you both all about it." With a nod, the three headed towards the double doors lending out of the Games Room while still making small talk. Though, Haku still found himself wondering how Hinata's meeting was going. _Sarutobi-san is there with her, so I'm pretty confident things will be alright. Still, I wish I was there to hear what was going on._ He thought.

* * *

And there you have it! The next chapter should be up on Sunday(Monday at the latest) since I started working on it while editing this. Remember to review and let me know of any spelling or grammar errors you spot.

Until next time,

Peace~!


	8. Episode 8: Boys Love Lunching

I had quite a bit of fun writing this chapter, mostly because Jiraiya is one of my favorites in _Naruto_ ; trying to figure out how to express his playful, fun and somewhat serious personalty in this little alternate universe I came up with was a bunch of fun, and I came wait to get back to writing his POV again. Let me know what you think, did I do him justice or what?

* * *

Episode 8: Boys Love Lunching

It was about an hour into the meeting and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Hinata explained a few of the plot points in her story to Jiraiya, while also mentioning some of the things she would like to change from her books in the animated adoption. She was a bright young woman, the Chief Director could tell just by the way she carried herself; despite her meek and quiet appearance, he was certain she could put her foot down when the occasion called for it. And considering the family she came from and who her father was, he wasn't surprised in the slightest. If fact, he expected such things from the eldest daughter of the currant head of the Hyuga household's main branch.

 _Besides, w_ _hat was that old saying? The quiet ones are the ones you should watch out for_ _the most_ _, I think._ The white haired man mused as he nodded, listening to the young author speak her mind. _If that's how it went, from what I've seen, its true._

"-And I was also thinking of maybe changing so of the things in the second arc of the first book, to make things flow a bit better," Hinata continued. She paused. "If you don't mind me asking, how many episodes will the first season be?"

 _First season, huh. Seems she's already expecting a second one._ Jiraiya mused. He couldn't help giving a small grin. "You haven't even signed anything yet, and you're already asking about a second season," he said, playfully. "That's some _serious_ confidence, young lady."

"I-I didn't mean it like that," Hinata said, shyly, her cheeks turning slight red. "I mean I know I p-probably won't get a second season; what I meant was how many episodes will I be working with?"

"Now, don't count yourself out just yet. If the animation does as good as your books, you might very well get a second season," the middle aged man said. "As for the number of episodes, twelve seems like a good amount to start with, maybe thirteen if you want to add something extra."

"Really," Hinata said. "But I don't think that will cover the entire first book. It'll probably only cover half."

The black haired woman next to her spoke. "That's not a bad thing, Hinata. Twelve or thirteen episodes for the first season will let you fit in more detail."

"Your beautiful publisher is right, you know," Jiraiya added, nodding in agreement. "There's no rule saying you have to cram an entire book into one season if the episodes aren't enough to do so; in fact, most of the time, and I can tell you from what I've seen, that that's the worst thing an author can do when adopting a book to the small screen."

"It can rush the plot, and bad pacing can ruin what would, otherwise, be a decent show," Kurenai explained. "That's the last thing you want."

Hinata gave a thought expression. She stayed silent for a long moment. "Hm ...I guess I can see that," she muttered. "So, you're saying I should only animate half the first book for now, and do the rest if it's liked well enough?"

"Yep, however that's just my thoughts on the matter. I'm not going to tell you how to do things, and I'm not going to babysit you either; its your creation. But, it would be a good way to do a lot with a little," Jiraiya said, leaning forward, threading his fingers together on his desk. "Many mangakas and authors have done it that way. Not all of them got the second season they were hoping for, however, it did brings greater attention to their source material as a whole."

If Jiraiya had to do an estimate, about forty percent of most light novel authors(and their hadn't been many, Hinata only being the ninth author he wanted to work with)got a second season for their book, and of that forty percent, a little less than twenty percent ended up getting a third season, and absolutely no one even considered a forth season.

On the other side of the chart, the sixty percent that didn't get a second season at all, either because the animation flopped, not enough people took interest in it, or the television ratings were bad; of that sixty, half saw a significant increase in books sells.

Whenever the middle aged director decided to bring a light novel author in to create an animation of their stories, he found himself making sort of a game of it with himself, to see how far the author could go, their drive, and exactly how much passion they truly had for their work. He saw making an animated adopted of their stories as a reward of sorts for the hard work they put into their stories.

Well, that, and he usually really liked the idea of bringing those stories to the small screen.

Jiraiya saw a lot of potential in the young Hyuga as a writer. He didn't know the family on a personal level, but he knew enough through different contacts and sources to know that whenever someone from the Hyuga household put their mind to something, they got it done, and were one of the best at doing so. The three continued talking things over, about the artist team, what would make a good sound track, and even voice actors the young woman thought was a good match for a few of the characters, which if Jiraiya had to guess, was one of the best parts of the meeting for her so far.

"I was also thinking that maybe Yukimaru-san could do the voice of Takashi, and Uchiha-san could do the voice of his teacher. I've always imagined Genji sounding somewhat similar to him when writing," Hinata said, smiling.

Jiraiya gave a nod. "I can see why, Uchiha has always had a natural talent for voicing the strong and silent types. Don't get me wrong, he is very good at other character types, even some of the crazier parts, but the strong and silent ones really bring up his voice talent to another level."

"So, is it true that when he voiced Hayate in _Scouts of War_ , he used his regular voice throughout the entire series," the young author asked.

" _Scouts Of War_ , man, that takes me back. It was one of the last script writing projects I did before I became Chief Director, you know," Jiraiya said, smiling. "As for your question, that's actually completely true, Itachi-kun did little to nothing to his voice. He just talked."

"Really, that's amazing," Hinata said in admiration. "He's always been one of my favorite voice actors, ever since junior high; What is he like?"

"What's he like? Let's see," Jiraiya gave a thoughtful expression, trying to find the right words. "Somewhat laid back, mostly keeps to himself, and from what I've seen, very good with darts and throwing knives."

"I-I'm pretty good with darts myself."

"Really, well, we'll have to see just how good then. Itachi-kun's skills are borderline unnatural, I've never beaten him once in darts. Though, I did come close, one time."

"Asuma said he got pretty close too, and still lost," Kurenai added.

When the time changed to twelve-thirty, and not a second later, a loud beeping sound began coming from the middle aged man. He sat up in his chair, and reached into his pants pocket, pulling out his cellphone and flipped it open. "Looks like its time for my lunch break," he said.

"I'm pretty hungry myself," Kurenai said.

Jiraiya cut the alarm off on his phone, and smiled. "In that case, how about we continue this meeting over lunch? On me," he offered, sliding the device back into his pocket.

Hinata gave a slow nod. "S-sure, if you r-really don't mind, Jiraiya-san."

"Of course I don't mind, I'm the one who made the offer," the white haired man said. "What about you, Kurenai?"

"You won't see me turning down a free meal, especially if I'm not paying," Kurenai answered. "Count me in."

"Great, give me a second." Jiraiya picked up the phone on his desk, and dialed a few numbers. After a few rings, someone picked up.

" _Hello?_ "

"Touka-san, I'm heading out for lunch with the young ladies that came in earlier. Just call my cell if something important happens."

" _Of course, sir,"_ the woman said over the line. " _Is there anything else._ "

"Not at the moment, I'll let you know if there is ...oh, actually, can you tell Yamada-kun to bring my car out front."

" _I'll get right on it._ "

The line clicked off; Jiraiya hung up the phone, slid back his chair and stood, smiling at his two guests. Once the two stood themselves, Jiraiya began walking towards the door, Kurenai and Hinata following him. "I know this great sandwich shop not too far from here," he pushed the door open and held it as they walked out the office. "It opened up about a few years ago. I went there once, and I was hooked. They must be putting something in their food, cause I've been a regular ever since."

"You know, I think Asuma told me about that place," Kurenai said. "It was called: Kimiko ...something."

"Kimiko's Delights," Jiraiya corrected. "Not a very popular place, but I think it should be."

"Is the food really that good?" Hinata asked, as they made their way down the hall and stopped at the elevator.

Jiraiya gave a half-shrug, pressing the down button for the lift. "Try it when we get there and you tell me."

"So, did you get a new car like everyone's been telling you," Kurenai asked.

"Tch, no. I finally got my baby fixed up."

"You could have just gotten a new car for less. Damn thing was completely totaled."

"Hey, she's my baby. I couldn't give up on her just because it cost a little money to fix her up."

"Still think you should have gotten rid of _her._ "

Hinata blinked at the two, her brows arched in confusion. "W-we are still talking about a car, right?"

"Of course," Jiraiya said, happily. "My baby is special; brought her the day I graduated high school and I've had her ever since. She's a classic." The elevator gave a ding and the doors opened. The three stepped on and the door closed, Jiraiya pressed the button for the basement floor, and the lift began lowering towards the underground parking lot.

 _ **~(2)~**_

The drive to the sandwich shop took about ten minutes in Jiraiya's car, which was a truly breathtaking automobile. When the older man said that his car was a classic, he wasn't exasperating, it was a work of art and even the light brown leather seats were soft and plush and inside smelled of green apples and cherry blossoms.

The car was a ruby red, 1957 Chevy Bel Air; Jiraiya's 'baby', his pride and joy, polished to the point of being almost blinding to those who looked at it in the sunlight, and a green image of a cartoon toad on a Lilly pad on the license plate.

"How did you find a car like this," Hinata asked from the back seat. "I've only seen these models in old American movies."

Jiraiya laughed. "This car being from the old movies was one of the reasons I brought her; to make a long story short, a good friend of mine sold it to me for a pretty reasonable price, and I had no reason to say 'no', and every reason to say 'yes'," he answered. "Of course, I had to fix her up quite a bit. Then I had a pretty bad accident about three months ago; old girl was banged up, pretty much completely totaled. But, I put a good amount of time and money into getting her fixed and here she is, good as new."

"Well, from the looks of things, the money you put in was worth it," Kurenai said.

"Every yen," Jiraiya said with a nod. "But she was in slightly worse shape when I first got her; most people wouldn't have given this car a second glance, much less consider buying it. But, I saw what she _could_ be and the rest is history." He pulled to a stop at the next light, and didn't have to wait for long before the light turned green again. He turned the next corner, and drove half a block down the street, before pulling to a stop and parallel parking into an empty parking space. Jiraiya then cut off the engine and pointed towards the passenger side window. "And here we are. That's the place right there."

Hinata looked out her window. The sandwich shop was an average sized brown building, a little under two floors high. Just over the front entrance of the eatery was a metal sign attached to a metal pole, the outside corners were light green and a thin red line ran between them stopping short of reaching the center of the sign were the words: **Kimiko's Delights** , were printed in bold, elegant letters.

The three exited the automobile and entered the eatery; it wasn't completely filled, but there was enough people around to keep the staff busy through the lunch rush; Jiraiya lead his guests to a booth at the back of the shop near the window, the sound of lighthearted fifties style music playing from a jukebox next to the bar-style counter top not far from their table.

Once they were all seated, a petite young woman with dark brown hair came over and passed out three menus to the trio; Jiraiya had seen and talked to her almost every time he visited the eatery, even when she wasn't working on a few occasions. "Hello~ and welcome to Kimiko's Delights; its always nice to see new customers, especially nice looking ladies like yourselves; when you're ready to order, please let one me know," the woman said. She wore a red plaid shirt under a white apron, brown slacks and had her hair done up in a french; on the breast pocket of the apron was her name tag: Arisa.

The waitress then put her attention on Jiraiya, her smile changing ever so slightly. "Its good to see you again, Ji-chan. We're having two new sandwich specials added to the menu for the rest of this week that aren't usually on the list."

"Two new sandwiches, huh," Jiraiya said. "What the occasion?"

Arisu sighed. "Nothing big. We're having a contest of sorts between the cooking staff; today we are trying to see how the customers react to them. I've tried both, and they're actually quite good; I honestly can't decide which one should stay on the menu."

"I see, well, I probably won't try 'em today," Jiraiya said. "But tomorrow, who knows, I might give these new sandwiches a taste."

"I'm glad to hear that; the more feed back we have, the sooner we can cool down this little rivalry the cooks have."

Jiraiya gave her a look. "A little rivalry between coworkers isn't exactly a bad thing, I mean, you are getting two new sandwiches out of the whole thing."

The waitress chuckled. "The boss said the same thing," the young woman took a step back, then gave a slight bow. "Anyway, if you'll excuse me." Then Arisu left to take orders from another table.

The white haired director picked up his menu and opened it, glancing over at Kurenai and the young Hyuga author. "Don't be shy, ladies, pick whatever you want. Like I said, its on me," he said. As the two women began looking over their menus, Jiraiya continued. "I've always found the sweet and spicy curry chicken sandwich to be one of the best things they serve here."

"Do you think I should get that then," Hinata asked, while starring at her menu. "I honestly can't decide; everything looks good."

"Take your time. That's just my suggestion, so pick whatever looks the best out of the bunch."

After a few minutes of silence, looking over the menu, Kurenai lowered hers to the table, followed by Hinata a few moments later. Seeing that they were ready to order, Jiraiya lifted his hand and called over the young waitress who had handed them their menus.

"I take it you're ready to order, Ji-chan?" the young woman asked, taking out a small notepad and pen from the back pocket of her slacks.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes. I'll be getting the sweet and spicy curry chicken sandwich, and a glass of lemonade, with a wedge of lemon."

"Alright," the waitress wrote it down, then turned her head. "And what will you lovely ladies be having?"

Hinata glanced down at the menu one more time, then over at Jiraiya, before answering. "I'll get the same thing Jiraiya-san is getting."

"You can get me the spicy BBQ beef brisket with extra sweet peppers, but keep out the hot peppers," Kurenai answered. "And for the drink, cold green tea with a little sugar, ginger and lemon will be fine."

The young woman gave a nod. "No hot peppers? To a lot of folks that's where most of the kick come from."

"I like some hot things, I just don't like hot peppers, never have," Kurenai said.

"Hey, to each their own; you don't like hot peppers, we ain't gonna add them," Arisu wrote down the last orders, then tucked the pen and notepad away into the breast pocket of her apron. "Will that be all," Arisu asked as she picked up the menus from the table; the three gave a nod. "Okay, please give us about fifteen minutes."

"Sure thing, beautiful, take all the time you need," Jiraiya said with a soft smile. The waitress giggled and gave a soft smile back and walked away, swaying her hips just enough for the middle aged director to take notice. _Yep, I've still got it._ He thought. Turning back to his two lunch dates, he took notice of the questioning eyebrow raise Kurenai had, and the confused one from Hinata. "What?"

"You are such a flirt, even when you don't need to be, like always," Kurenai said.

"Hey, its not my fault women take my smile out of context," Jiraiya said. "Besides, that girl's too young for me, I'm old enough to be her father."

"I still think you should stop," Kurenai said. "You come here all the time, right? The last thing you want is for that young girl to get the wrong idea and think that you want something from her, when you don't."

Jiraiya went quiet for a moment; he couldn't argue with Kurenai's logic, mostly because such examples like she had stated happened before a lot in his younger years. "You're right, as always," the Chief Director said, scratching his temple with his index finger. He sighed. "Seriously, its like you've made it your job to keep me in check or something."

"Someone has to since Tsunade-san's not here at the moment," Kurenai stated with a small smile.

"Well, my flirting habits aside," Jiraiya leaned forward and threaded his fingers together on the table, his attention completely on the young writer across from him. "Tell me, young lady, do you have other story ideas you're working on apart from your current one that's been published."

Hinata gave a nod. "Y-yes, I do. Tons of ideas; n-notebooks full of them."

"I see, and exactly how many are 'tons'? What are a few of the really interesting ones?"

"Um I, hm," Hinata put a finger to her chin. A moment later she let out a sheepish chuckle, blushing slightly. "To be honest, I really couldn't tell you, Jiraiya-san."

"Oh, you're one of those secretive writer types," Jiraiya said. "Like to keep all your ideas under lock and key, safe from the eyes and ears of strangers, am I right?"

"That's kinda right. T-though I wouldn't mind, um, s-sharing my i-ideas with you," the young woman said meekly, poking her index finger together. "I've written s-so many ideas I've lost count, and a few I've probably forgotten about; sometimes it makes it hard to focus on one thing with so many good ideas popping up."

Jiraiya gave an understanding nod. "From my experience, most writers are like that," he said. "That's a sign that your well of creativity isn't close to drying up, yet. However, like you said, at times a constant flood of good ideas does have its downsides."

"H-how do you deal with things like that," Hinata asked.

"Simple, I prioritize," Jiraiya answered.

"But, how do you decide?"

"Me personally?" The young woman nodded. "Um, I tape up all my ideas on the wall of my study, then I go over each idea and decide which ideas to keep, which ones to put away for later, and which ones to scrap. It takes me hours to decide, but that's what works for me."

Kurenai shook her head. "You should see it, Hinata," she chuckled. "He's like a mad scientist when it comes to storytelling and making novels; one time, Mirai and me walked into his study and he had sticky notes all over the floor. It was insane."

"The mind of a madman tells the best tales," Jiraiya said, simply. "Besides, if I hadn't done that, Mirai wouldn't have stepped on the one sticky note that brought all the pieces of my my latest novel together."

Hinata let out a gasp, and her eyes went wide at the words 'latest novel'. "W-wait, you're writing a new book?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Yep, just because I haven't published anything since my last series ended, doesn't mean I ever stopped writing," the middle aged man said. "A true author never stops writing, even when their out of the spotlight."

"Oh, wow, t-this is amazing," Hinata said excitedly. "I thought you were done with making books for good; if you don't mind me asking, why did you stop?"

Jiraiya clicked his tongue in thought. His reasons for not publishing for as long as he had were many, and not things he wanted to go into too much detail about, so he kept his answer simple and short. "Life, work, I got promoted to Chief Director and just couldn't find time to seriously work on any of my ideas," he explained. "But, I feel like I've been gone for long enough; much too long for my tastes, and I sure you and all the other readers who enjoyed _Icha Icha Paradise_ feel the same."

"I-I can't speak for everyone else, but I've been hoping you'd release something new since I finished junior high," Hinata admitted, shyly.

"Well, if that's the case, I will try my best not to disappoint," Jiraiya said. He was then struck by a good idea, like a light bulb going off in his head. "Tell you what, how about I share a bit about what my new novel's plot is, since you'll be sharing some of your ideas with me?"

"Y-you'd really share what the new book's about?"

"Sure, its only fair," Jiraiya said. "And who knows, maybe the exchange will give us a few new ideas; the best writing material for an author usually comes from an outside source, after all."

Hinata giggled. "T-that's true?"

Some time later in the middle of their idea sharing, the young waitress who took their orders arrived at the table with their lunch, pushing a food cart that held their meals on white, glass china plates with a slightly different design on each; next to the plates was ice cold lemonade in two big, slim glasses and cold tea in a large sized tea cup and near the corner of the cart was a medium sized pitcher of yellowish water. She put each of their respective meals and drinks in front of the them, then placed the large container of (what Jiraiya assumed was) lemonade in the center of the table.

"We didn't order any extra lemonade, Arisu," Jiraiya pointed out, starring over at the young waitress. "Don't customers usually get free water only as extra?"

Arisu stood back and smiled. "Oh, it is water. I just mixed in a little lemon juice and sugar," she then winked at the older man. "But no one else needs to know that. If you don't want the _water_ , I could always take it back; mistakes happen," she said, slyly.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Well, in that case, you won't hear any complaining from me," he said.

The waitress gave a nod. "Enjoy your meal. If you need anything else, please let me or one of the other staff know," she leaned down slightly, and added softly. "Though, I'd much rather you just call me, Ji-chan." Once she stood again, she bowed and strolled off, pushing the cart towards the door leading to the back room.

Kurenai sighed and shook her head. "Even after what we just talked about; you're a lost cause, Jiraiya."

"Oh, give me a break, will ya," the white haired man retorted lazily with a wave of his hand. "I'm trying, alright. Jeez, I'm only human." With a sigh, Jiraiya turned back to Hinata. "Anyway, sorry about that; back to what you were talking about."

Hinata smiled. "R-right. As I was saying, the story I want to do after _My Life with Genji-san_ , I plan on being much bigger and complex in terms of its plot."

"I see, please elaborate," Jiraiya said, taking a bite of his sandwich. It was still just as good as the first bite he took when he first visited the sandwich shop. _I'm definitely gonna give those two new sandwiches a try before the week is up._

 _ **~(3)~**_

When the three got back from lunch and entered the Chief Director's office, it was back to business and the actual meeting continued without delay, lasting until about fifteen minutes to four o' clock.

Slight story changes were discussed, since certain scenes had to be slightly toned down or changed for the teenage to young adult audience the animation would be geared towards; voice actors was another topic that came up a few more times, though nothing was decided as of yet, and probably wouldn't be until their next meeting.

Before the two woman left, Jiraiya offered to give Hinata his card, as well as his email address and phone number, in case the young light novelist ever had any question or simply wanted to talk, to which the fujoshi happy accepted. Once Kurenai and Hinata left (the latter seeming somewhat disappointed), Jiraiya sat back in his chair and spun around until he was facing the window; with one leg crossed over the other, he reached into his pants pocket and took out his cellphone, while going over the meeting in his head.

The conversation between the two authors on the topic of writing continued well after they'd finish eating lunch, and even during the drive back to the studio. Jiraiya enjoyed Hinata's company, and even Kurenai joined in the conversation at times. It felt almost like finding a long lost friend who shared the same outlook on a particular subject that you did.

And he took notice through out their discussion that Hinata hardly, if ever, brought up anything close to intimacy when it came the characters in her story at certain scenes, and when he brought up such parts he'd read in her first book and ask where she got her inspiration from for such heated scenes, the young woman would simply blush and answer with: "I-I just try to stay in the moment. If I stop and think about what I'm writing, t-then I'll remember others are going to read it and g-get too embarrassed to finish the scene until I calm down."

Jiraiya could understand that. Being an author of erotic novels, it took him a while to write such stories meant for the public eye; back during his high school years and even in university, he kept all his ideas, outlines and short stories completely to himself, afraid of what others would think. The last thing he wanted was to be treated as some perverted weirdo.

It wasn't until Tsunade, his childhood friend, found his box of erotic writings (both poems and stories) sometime after they graduated from college that he really began putting his work out there for the eyes of strangers and friends alike.

 _I was expecting to get knocked over the head by Tsunade that day._ He mused, smiling at the memory. To his surprise, the busty blonde actually said that he had talent. _Though, speaking of talent, I get the feeling Hinata has a bright future ahead of her._ He flip open his mobile phone, and dialed in the number for the first person of many he intended to call.

The Chief Director put the phone up to his ear, humming to himself until the other line was answered.

" _Hello, Uchiha residence_ _._ " Came a woman's voice.

The person who picked up wasn't the one he wanted, but Jiraiya was happy to hear her all the same. "Hello, Izumi-chan, its me."

" _Jiraiya-san, we haven't gotten a call from you in some time,_ " the young woman said. " _Last we heard, you got in a car accident. Is everything going well?_ "

"Of course, I'm perfectly fine and healthy," the Chief Director said. "Not to rush you off the phone, Izumi, but is Itachi-kun there by any chance?"

" _Just a moment, I'll get him for you._ "

There was the sound of the phone being put do, then nothing. But, the silence didn't last long, as the receiver was picked up by just the man he wanted to hear. " _Jiraiya-san."_

"Ah~ Itachi-kun, how is everything," Jiraiya happily greeted. "I hope this isn't a bad time to talk. How's the family?"

" _We're doing well, as always,_ " the young man replied, the sound of birds and animals in the background. " _What do you need?_ "

"Straight to business, I see. Good, cause I have a new voice job for you; don't tell your wife, but I'm in the process of getting that yaoi light novel series she is so into animated, believe it or not," Jiraiya said. "The author's also interested in giving you and a few others a lead role. How's that sound to you?"

The young man clicked his teeth over the phone. " _I'm listening._ "

* * *

And that ends it for this chapter, remember to review and let me know of any errors I missed that you catch. The next installment will be out around Monday or Tuesday, probably early seeing as I've been on a roll, unless life gets in the way.

Peace~!


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